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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

Lt.   Col.  George  "White 


'7<'->. 


V  -'^  •*'/ 


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SAKYA  BUDDHA: 
A  Narrative  of  his  Life  and  Teachings. 


Page 


ERRATA. 

60, 

7tli  line,  for  changes,        read  ranges. 

63, 

9tli     ' 

'       "   kernelike, 

'     kern-like. 

73, 

IStli     ' 

'       ''    Llama, 

'     Lama. 

92, 

9th     ' 

'       "    thorough. 

'     thoroughly. 

103, 

1st     ' 

"    best. 

'     least. 

105, 

2d     ' 

'       "   bones. 

'     bows. 

127, 

18th     ' 

'       "    Delia-Llama, 

'     Delai-Lama 

162, 

6tli     ' 

'       "    ribbing, 

'     rubbing. 

8AKYA  BUDDHA: 


Versified,  Annotated  Narrative 


OF   HIS 


LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS; 


WITH 


AN   EXCURSUS, 


CONTAINING 


Citations  from  tlie  Dliaininapafta,  or  Biiiliist  Canon. 

By  E.  D.  KOOT, 

AN     AMERICAN     BUDDHIST. 


"The  more  I  learn  to  know  Buddha,  the  more  I  admire  h'm,  and 
the  sooner  all  mankind  shall  have  been  made  acquainted  with  his 
doctrines  the  better  it  will  be,  for  he  is  certainly  one  of  the  heroes 
of  humanity."— Dk.  Fausboll. 


NEW  YORK : 
CHARLES    P.   SOMERBY, 

iS  Bond  Street. 

1880. 


Copyrightod, 

By  C.  P.  Somerby, 

1880. 


C.  P.  Somerby, 

Elcctrotyper  aucl  Printer, 

18  Bond-st,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 

In"  presenting  this  unpretentious  poem  to 
the  world,  I  am  not  certain  that  the  ca- 
dence of  its  numbers  will  strike  favorably 
the  public-ear.  Should  it  fail,  through  its 
dearth  of  afflatus,  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
American  scholars,  I  am  prone  to  believe 
that  in  India,  where  the  grand  ethical  teacher 
gifted  his  birth-land  with  fame's  proud  lau- 
rels, it  will  live  in  the  liearts  of  many  of 
his  followers,  and,  peradveiiture,  be  enstamped 
with   the    sigil  of    immortality. 

The  volumes  containing  the  Life  and  Teach- 
ings of  Buddha,  from  which  the  material  that 
girds   the    poem    has    been    gleaned,   are    ex- 


vi  Preface. 

pensive,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  the  mass 
of  readers. 

I  have  epitomized,  and  brought  within 
the  scope  of  the  masses  (to  M^hom  those  vol- 
umes are  inaccessible)  all  that  is  needed  to 
form  a  correct  biographical  narrative  of  the 
keenest-minded  of  all  religious,  Heaven-sent 
Ariels. 

I  have  endeavored  with  copious  annota- 
tations  to  render  plain  many  incidents  inter- 
Woven  with  the  career  of  Buddha  which  could 
not  have  been  easily  wrought  in  rythmic  num- 
bers. 

In  launching  my  epical  poem  upon  the 
bournless  sea  of  literature,  I  offer  no  apol- 
ogy, and  make  no  cringing  appeal  to  the 
mercy  of  critical  reviewers ;  and  should  my 
humble  effort  fail  to  meet  their  approval,  or 
be  rejected  by  them  as  unmeritorious,  let 
their  censuring  frowns  forever  rest  upon  the 
ill-starred  narrative  of  the  all-adored  Founder, 


Preface,  vii 

wlio  has  borne  betimes  the  struggling  author 
over  life's  storm- vexed  surges,  when  fate-girded 
Hope  was  whelmed  'neath  affliction's  dark 
waters. 

Deep-roused  by  true  missionary  zeal  to 
blazon  far  and  wide  the  incomparable  Law  of 
the  gentle  Lord  Buddha,  and  knowing  be- 
yond a  shadow  of  uncertainty,  accompanied 
by  an  overwhelming  cogency  of  evidence, 
that  my  earth -flown  friends,  hovering  near 
the  fringe  of  supernal  spheres,  are  swaying 
and  shaping  my  anomalous  career,  I  am  lifted 
tower ingly  above  the  narrow  judgment  of  the 
daintified,  cynical  reviewer,  who  will  find  it 
easier^to  demolish  a  fortress  than  to  erect  one 
that   will   be   impregnable. 

The  reader  will  please  accept  my  assur- 
ance with  all  confidence  that  the  poem  con- 
tains nothing  dispraising  th.e  Christian  reli- 
gion, nor  the  sublime  teachings  of  the  God- 
man   Nazarene. 


viii  Preface. 

Hoping  that  this  candid  avowal  will  dis- 
arm all  unreasonable  prejudice,  and  prepare 
the  mind  for  a  careful  perusal  of  my  truth- 
founded  narrative,  I  remain,  kind  reader,  yours 
in  mortal  bonds,  striving  to  attain  that  glori- 
ous,  spiritual    life,   which   blooms   beyond   the 

grave  with  ineffable  grandeur. 

E.  D.  K. 

FORESTVILLE,     CoUU., 

October,  1879. 


PRELIMINARY   OBSERVATIONS. 

It  was  the  gifted  poet  Goethe  who  *gave 
to  the  world  the  following  paradoxical  apo- 
thegm :  "  He  who  knows  only  one  language 
knows  none."  To  tliis  the  lettered  Max 
Mtiller  adds :  "  He  who  knows  only  one  re- 
ligion knows  none.  As  a  true  knowledge  of 
a  langnage  requires  a  knowledge  of  languages, 
thus  a  true  knowledge  of  a  religion  requires 
a  knowledge  of  religions ;  and  however  bold 
the  assertion  may  sound,  that  all  languages 
have  an  Oriental  origin,  true  it  is  that  all 
religions,  like  the  suns,  have  risen  from  the 
East." 

In    the    elucidation   of    this   paradox,    the 


10  Preliminary  Observations. 

distinguished  philologist  relevantly  queries : 
"Could  Goethe  have  meant  that  Homer  did 
not  know  Greek,  ox  that  Shakspeare  did 
not  know  English,  because  neither  of  them 
knew  more  than  his  own  mother-tongue  ? 
No !  What  was  meant  was  that  neither  Ho- 
mer nor  Shakspeare  knew  what  that  language 
really  was  which  he  handled  with  so  much 
power  and  cunning.  ...  It  becomes  clear 
at  once  that  the  most  gifted  poet  and  most 
eloquent  speaker,  with  all  their  command  of 
words  and  skillful  mastery  of  expression,  would 
have  but  little  to  say  if  asked  what  language 
really  is !  The  same  applies  to  religion.  He 
who  knows  onlv  one  knows  none.  There  are 
thousands  of  people  whose  faith  is  such  that 
it  could  move  mountains,  who  yet,  if  asked 
what  religion  really  is,  would  remain  silent, 
or  would  speak  of  outward  tokens,  rather 
than  the  inward  nature,  or  of  the  faculty  of 
faith." 


Preliminary  Observations.  11 

To  these  scholarly  testimonies  I  humbly 
subjoin :  If  the  man  who  knows  only  the 
English  language  cannot  trace  the  etymologi- 
cal derivations  of  its  verbs,  nouns  and  ad- 
jectives, the  believer  who  knows  only  the 
Christian  religion  cannot  trace  its  primitive 
source  without  extending  his  inquiries  into 
all  antedated  Hevelations. 

If  it  be  true,  as  the  late  Michelet  affirms, 
that  India  was  the  original  matrix  of  the 
world,  the  source  of  races,  ideas,  languages, 
and  religions,  it  behooves  all  believers  to  ex- 
tend their  continual  researches  into  the  origin 
of  the  Christian  religion,  which  flings  its  sheen 
along  life's  pathway,  and  unlocks  the  death- 
barred  tomb. 

During  many  years  of  my  checkered  and 
truth-searching  career,  I  have  been  a  schis- 
matic, and  an  unyielding  dogmatist,  standing 
upon    creed  -  platforms    so    narrow     that    un- 


12  Preliminary  Observations. 

guarded   mis-steps   often  plunged   me   into  the 
bewildering   labyrinths   of  polemic   theology. 

In  traversing  the  broad  field  of  religious 
credenda,  I  am  borne  toweringly  above  the 
trammels  of  churlish  bigotry,  while  my  asperity 
and  love  of  disputation  are  subdued,  so  that  I 
now  feel  liberal  in  my  views  toward  the  mul- 
tiform, contentious  sectaries.* 

When  the  underlying  truth  of  Goethe's 
paradox,  with  the  well-versed  Miiller's  appli- 
cation of  it  to  religions,  suggested  its  pro- 
found significance,  I  at  once  betook  myself 
to  investigating  all  ethnical  and  man-cherished 
Kevelations. 

Instead  of  accepting  unaccredited  material, 
gleaned  from  ancient  religions,  by  surface- 
compilers,  I,  with  great  difficulty,  and  con- 
siderable   expense,    procured     literal     English 

*  From  the  Book  of  all  Religions^  by  Hay  ward,  we 
learn  that  more  than  two  hundred  sects  have  sprung 
from  the  Christian  religion. 


PveliiYiinary  Observations.  13 

translations  of  the  works  entitled  as  follows : 
The  Zend-Avesta^  containing  the  four 
religious  books  of  the  Parsees,  bequeathed  to 
the  world  by  the  old  Iranian  Prophet  Zo- 
roaster, the  date  *  of  whose  writings  reaches 
a  remote  antiquity  ;  the  Rig  -  Yeda,  which 
gives  the  earliest  collocation  of  Brahminical 
prayers  and  hymns  to  the  Maruts,  'or  storm- 
gods ;  the  Bhaghavad-  Gita^  or  Hindu  IN^ew 
Testament,  which  reveals  the  discourses  be- 
tween Krishna,  Arjuna,  and  Sanjaya  ;  the 
Analects  of  Confucius ;  the  Works  of  Men- 
cius;  the  Speculations  of  the  old  Chinese 
philosopher  Lan-tsze ;  the  Koran^  by  Moham- 
med. Also  the  Dha7nrnaj)ada,  or  Path  of 
Virtue^  by  Sakya  Buddha ;  his  Life  and  Teach- 
ings from  the  Chinese  San^rit,  by  Kev.  Sam- 
uel Beal;  the  same,  by  Alabaster,  from  Siamese 
sources;  also,  the  same,  from  the  Birmese,  by 

*  Elsewhere,  in  a  note,  the  reader  will  find  historic 
evidence  of  the  date  of  the  Iran.ian  Prophet^ 


14:  Preliminary  Observations, 

Bishop  BIgandet,  who  is  a  Catholic  Apostolic 
Yicar   of  Ava   and  Pegu.* 

Anterior  to  the  advent  of  the  gentle  Naz- 
arene,  there  flourished  in  India  successive  gen- 
erations who  must  have  passed  from  earth- 
life  without  hope  —  with  no  well  -  born  Ariel 
to  guide  them  through  death's  dark  windings, 
unless  we  concede  that  Krishna  of  Mathnra, 
and  Buddha  of  Kapilavastu,  were  their  Heaven- 
ordained  Kedeemers.  Can  the  kind-hearted 
Christian  for  a  moment  believe  that  myriads 
of  human  beings,  in  that  far,  sunny  clime, 
will  languish  in  Hell's  drear  dominions  througli 
limitless  seons  ?  The  heavens  gather  black- 
ness   over    such    a   thought !      Tlie    Seraphim 

*"Abufazl,  it  is  said,  the  minister  of  the  Emperor 
Akbar,  could  find  no  one  to  assist  him  in  liis  inquiries 
respecting  Buddhism.  We  possess  the  whole  sacred 
canon  of  the  Buddhists  in  various  languages — in  Pali, 
Sanskrit,  Birmese,  Siamese,  Thibetan,  Mongolian  and 
Chinese — which  Akbar  could  not  obtain  by  threats  or 
bribery,"— 7^.  JLr<z«  MiiUer. 


PreliTninaTy  Observations.  15 

retire  in  tears  from  the  scene !  Yet,  high- 
throned  o'er  the  world,  God  smiles  through  the 
gloom  ! 

The  theory,  posited  by  theologians,  that 
the  so-called  heathen  will  be  saved  through 
the  vicarious,  retroactive  atonement  of  Christ, 
is  shorn  of  its  significance  when  we  consider 
the  fact  that  there  are  now  four  hundred 
millions  of  beings  throughout  the  vast  Asian 
realms  who  have  never  heard  his  name.  If 
the  atonement  is  retroactive  in  its  efi:ects,  it  can 
only  reach  those  who  lived  prior  to  the  ad- 
vent of  Jesus,  and  held  to  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures, containing  God-given  promises  of  the 
coming  of  a  spiritual,  sin-atoning  Messiah. 

As  a  poetic  outcome  of  lofty  odes,  en- 
souled with  melodious  cadences,  have  been 
hymned  in  honor  of  the  Heaven-sent  l^aza- 
rene,  I  have  struck  the  Muse's  lyre,  to  swell 
with  versual  numbers  "  the  tide  of  song " 
for   the   wide -famed,  holy   Lord  Buddha,   son 


16  Prel'hninary.  Observations. 

of  Suddliodana,  Hajali  of  the  royal  realm  of 
Kapilavastu,  India,  who  flourished  553  years 
ere  Bethlehem's  star  arose,  and  has  (accord- 
ing to  a  reliable  statist's  computation)  over 
four  hundred  millions  of  followers  in  the  ex- 
tended dominions  of  China,  Birmah,  Siberia, 
Nepaul,  Ceylon,  Siam,  Japan,  Hindustan,  Thi- 
bet  and   Mongolia. 

In   versifying   this    difficult    thesis,   I   have 
traversed  a  field  unpathed  *  by  the  poets,  and 

*  Close  upon  tlie  eve  of  my  finisMng  rtiis  poem, 
a  Life  of  Buddlia  {The  Light  of  Asia,  or  the  Great 
BeiiuThciation),  by  Edwin  Arnold,  M.A.,  F.R.G.S.,  was 
issued  by  the  popular  publishers  of  Oriental  litera- 
ture, Triibner  &  Co.,  London.  It  appears  chiefly  in 
blank  verse,  and  contains  238  pages,  12mo.  An  Amer- 
ican edition  has  just  been  published  by  Roberts 
Brothers,  Boston.  The  following  lines  bespeak  the 
exuberant  diction  of  its  "  stately  march  of  numbers": 

"Which  reverence 
Lord  Buddha  kept  to  all  his   schoolmasters. 
Albeit  beyond  their  learning  taught ;  in  speech 
Right    gentle,   yet  so    wise  ;  princely    of    mien, 


Prelitninary  Observations.  17 

summarized,  within  the  purview  of  the  fol- 
lowing biographical  narrative,  a  truthful  de- 
lineation   of    the    life-work,    ethics,    and   apho- 

Yet   softly-mannered ;   modest,    deferent, 

And    tender-hearted,    though   of  fearless    blood ; 

No   holder  horseman  in  the  youthful  band 

E  'er  rode   in  gay  chase  the   shy  gazelles ; 

No  keener  driver   of  the   chariot 

In  mimic  contest  scoured   the  palace-courts ; 

Yet  in  mid-play  the  boy  would  ofttimes  pause  ; 

Letting  the  deer  pass  free  ;  would  ofttimes  yield 

His   half-won  race  because  the  laboring    steeds 

Fetched  painful  breath  ;  or  if  his  princely  mates_ 

Saddened  to  lose,   or  if  some  wistful  dream 

Swept  o  'er  his  thoughts.     And  ever  with  the  years 

Waxed  this  compassionateness  of  our  Lord, 

Even  as  a .  great  tree  grows  from  two  small  leaves 

To  spread  its  shade  afar ;  but  hardly  yet 

Knew  the  young  child   of  sorrow,  pain  or  tears, 

Save  as  strange  names  for  things  not  felt  by  kings, 

Nor  ever  to   be  felt." 

—(Am.  Ed.,  p.  15.) 

Among  the  multiform  encomia  so  lavishly  bestowed 
upon  this  grand  epical  poem,  I  find  none  that  de- 
pictures   the  majesty   of    its  diction  so    gracefully  a? 


18  Preliminary  Observations. 

risms,  which  lie  embosomed  in  the  canonical 
record  of  this  Heaven-gifted,  world-honored 
Oriental. 

the  critique  rendered  by  the  scholarly  American  poet 
Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  which  appears  in  the 
October  number  of  the  International  Revieio. 

Of  Mr  Arnold's  scholastic  and  linguistic  attain- 
ments the  reviewer  says:  "He  has  long  been  known 
as  a  writer  of  graceful  verse,  a  translator  from  San- 
skrit and  other  languages  ;  and,  as  connected  with  the 
Deccan  College  and  Univesity  of  Bombay,  has  natur- 
ally become  familiar  with  the  internal  as  well  as  the 
external  life   of  India." 


SAKYA  BUDDHA: 
His    Life    and    Teachings. 


T.^t/^f^CSStSi— ?*«»  M 


SAKYA   BUDDHA: 

A  Narrative  of  his  Life  and  Teachings. 

SECTION  I. 

Yon  world-sown  lieavens  were  reiided ! 

The    dream-wrapt   kings   uprose ! 
A   wild   nproar    was    blended 

With   Nature's    deep-heaved    throes ! 
Then   bells   in    chime   were   ringing, 

Feals    rolled    through    surging    air; 
From    thrones    were    rajahs    bringing 

Bright   gems   beyond   compare, 
To  crown    the    new-born    Savior, 

Whose    banner   guards    unfurled; 


22  Sdkya  Buddha : 

The   Heaven-sent    cliild's    behavior 
Amazed   a  joy -flushed    world.     (1) 

In    Liimbine's    bowers    deep-shaded, 
The  famed  Crown-prince  was  born ; 

Night's   queen    tliat   close   pervaded 
Till    smiled    the  gold-hued   morn ; 

Then    heard    was  joy-drum    beating, 
And   lilting    arias    rare, 

While   Indra's   hosts    were   meeting, 

Their     shrill  -  toned     trumps     to 
blare.     (2) 

To    the    nmral-guarded    harem. 

Whose    gairish  tower  loomed    high. 

The  royal   train    did   bear   him, 
While  Devas   circled   nigh ; 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  23 

And   flowers   in   rare   profusion 
From   Flora's   beds   were   flung. 

Till    staid   was   all   intrusion 
Of    din   from   hosts   among. 

No    minstrel's   pen    can   blazon 

That   soul-transporting   scene ; 
The   king   did   proudly   gaze    on 

His   Prince    and    consort-queen. 
O'erflushed   was    sire    Suddho'na 

When    cast   was   horoscope 
Of  one    whom    all   would    honor 

When   paths    to   life   he'd  ope, 
And   rive    the   woof   the    Brahmans 

Had    wove    to   thrall   the   mind, 
By  shriving   priests,   or   Shamans, 

Who   victims   strove    to   bind. 


^4  Sdkya  Buddha  i 

Along   his   home-born   pleasures 

Time   bore   with  noiseless  tread; 

The   realm   enhanced   his   treasm^es, 

While   Hope's  phimed   wings   were 
spread, 

And    soared   to   far-off  regions, 
To   worlds   where   spirits   roam — 

Where    dwell   ano-elic   les^ions, 

Who  guide    earth's   pilgrims   home. 

*  *  *  *  v5-  * 

With   lore    the    Prince   waxed   stronger 

When    flown   had    childhood's    days; 
He   brooked    at   length   no   longer 

The    siren    voice   of  praise. 
In   bloom    of   youth's   prime   morning 

He    whiled   the    light-winged   hours, 
Till   voice   'mid-space   bore   warning 

To   leave   those    sinful   bowers. 


Mis  Life  and  Teachings.  ^5 

Deep-versed   in   all   the   Shasters, 

And   sacred   tomes   of  yore, 
He    baffled    languaged   masters 

With   words   unknown   before; 
Outsoared   in  numbers  stately 

The   Yedic  bards   of  old, 
And   conned   each   page   sedately — 

The   scroll   of  Fame   unrolled.     (3) 

Embosomed   long   had   fluttered 

A   hope    earth's    wilds    to    roam ; 
But   this   he    ne'er   had   uttered 

To    friends   in   palace-home. 
When   borne    on    servants'   shoulders, 

In   gold-fringed   palankeen, 
He   kenned   the    strange   beholders, 

Who  marked  his  princely  mien.    (4) 


26  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

A   sire,   whose   locks   were   hoarj, 

Uprose,    while   gazed    the   crowd; 
Outpoured   a   plaintive   story, 

Then    'fore   the   Prince   he   bowed; 
Alleged   that   pain   and  sorrow 

Had    burdened   him    for   years. 
That  death  might  gloom  the  morrow — 

Then   flowed   the   trilling   tears. 

A   losel,   lorn,   he   noted. 

Who   reeled   athwart   his   way; 
With   dire   diseases   bloated, 

No   antidote   could   stay; 
Who  'd   laws   of  life   neglected, 

Bj   passion's   sway  o'erborne; 
Beep-anguished  and   dejected, 

Was    all   of  virtue   shorn. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.      -        27 

On    sable   bier   there    slumbered 

A  pulseless,  clay-cold   form, 
Whose  days  winged  Time  had  numbered, 

And   kin   were   left   to   mourn : 
A-near   the   Prince   stood   gazing 

Long   o  'er   that   thought-reft   brow ; 
But,    what  seemed   more   amazing, 

Was,   all  to   Death   must   bow. 

Commoved   with  deep-roused   pity, 

The  monarch-swain   returned; 
To   leave   that   vice-plunged   city 

His   heart   intensely   yearned. 
This   god-like    Oriental, 

Who   wide   the    scepter   swayed, 
In   mien   was  suave   and   gentle, 

By   foes   was   undismayed. 


)iS  /Sdkya  Buddha  : 

He   left  the   tower-crowned  palace. 

The   throne   with   gems   inwrought; 
With   love   unblent   with   malice, 

The   grandest   truths   he  taught. 
Fair   maids   in   roseate   beauty, 

Whose  soft-fringed  eyes  bright  shone, 
From   sternest   sense   of  duty 

He   left   to   pine   alone. 

Some   plied   their   arts   beguiling. 

His   love   to    still   retain ; 
To   troll,   they   leered   w^hen   smiling ; 

But   glozing   schemes   were   vain. 
No   woes   their   hearts   had    anguislied, 

'Mong   sylvan   bowers   they   strayed ; 
Anon,   supinely   languished. 

While   bickering   streamlets   played 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  29 

'Long   blooming   vales,    gay-dancing, 
High-hurled    their    water's    sheen, 

The   ravished   eye   entrancing, 

While   grandeur   crowned   the   scene. 

This   band   of  high-caste  sirens 

To   love-wrought   moods   inclined, 
Within   great   Kap'lar's   'vu'ons, 

No   more   could  joyance   find. 
From   kin   Siddartha  parted. 

Left   crest-bowed   nymphs   to    moan 
Forlornly,    dreary-hearted. 

With   hope   forever   flown. 

His   parting    with    Rahula 

Brought     many     a    grief  -  gloomed 
hour ; 


30  Sakya  Buddha  : 

Time   crowned   his    son   a   ruler, 

To   reign   with   sceptered   power. 
His   snow-white   steed   Kantaka 

He   soon   bestrode   in   haste —    (5) 
Did   then   his   queen  forsake   her, 

l!^o  more   home  joys   to   taste. 
The   grief-whelmed   Tasodhara 

Awoke  when   morn   smiled   round. 
Was  warned  by  "shrike-tongued  Mara"  (6) 

The   Prince   could   ne'er   be   found. 
She   swooning   paled   with   sadness, 

"While   shone   the  cadent   tear;   • 
In   sooth  no   after-gladness 

Her  lonely   heart   could   cheer.     (7) 

Soul-wrung   was   King   Suddho'na 
To   learn   his   son   had   gone; 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  31 

Though   millions   him    would   honor, 

Was   rendered    quite    forlorn. 
Though   one  would  sure  succeed  him 

As   rightful   heir   to   throne, 
Yet   sorely   he   did   need   him, 

As  Hope's  fond  dream   had  flown. 


Z2  Sakya  Buddha : 


SECTION   II. 

"What   time   with   argent   splendor 

Pale   Luna   graced   yon   dome, 
She   then   sad   thoughts   did   'gender 

In    one   foredoomed   to   roam. 
He   mused   in   silent   sorrow, 

While  westward  rolled  Night's  queen  ; 
But   felt   no   glad   to-morrow 

His   soul   could   wholly   wean 
From   scenes   of  home   beclouded, 

O'ermantled   deep   with   gloom. 
And   dreamland   hopes   enshrouded. 

Which   death   could   ne'er   entomb. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  33 

He   stemmed   the   full-flowed    Ganges 

When   darkly   rolled  its   tide;     (8) 
Retired   near   mountain-ranges, 

To   roam   their   purlieus   wide. 
Long-ling'ring  years   he   fasted 

In   Pansals   drear,    alone ;     (9) 
Meanwhile   his  thews   had   wasted, 

The   eye  but   dimly   shone. 

A   rajah's   well-born   daughter 

Then   brought   him   viands  rare; 
^ear   purling   rills   of  water, 

Her   dole  the   Prince   did   share ; 
Which   stilled   the   pangs  of  starving 

When  boding  death-clouds  lowered ; 
Grand  schemes  he  then  was  carving, 

With  Heaven's  behests  empowered. 


34  Sdkya  Buddha  : 

On   swirls   along   that   river 

His   "golden   bowl"  did   float, 
Suggesting   that   forever 

'T  would   tides   of  life   denote 
Of  souls   on   surges   heaving, 

Who   towering   rise   and   fall, 
While   stern-faced   Death  is  weaving 

A  woof  the   scene   to   pall. 

When  ills   most   pestilential 

Spread  gloom   both  far   and  wide, 
Forethought   he   deemed   essential 

To   stay  their   darkling   tide, 
Which   omened   dire   disaster, 

O'erwhelmed  the  woe-doomed  race. 
Who   fell   forsooth   the   faster. 

As   strode   grim   Death    apace. 


His  -Life  and  Teachings,  35 

Where  gloom  stretched  wide  through 
'Wela,     (10) 

Long   years   the   Prince   abode ; 
When   prone    'neath   lofty    Sala, 

Entranced   in    pensive   mood, 
Immersed   was   he   in   thinking 

Of  some   device,   or  plan. 
To   lift   the   frail   wliile    sinking, 

And  ^ave   the   guilt-plunged    man. 

!Nor   gear   nor   pageant   fashions 

Could  sway  his  Heaven-touched  soul ; 
He   knew   low-thoughted   passions 

Did   fiery   torrents   roll 
Through  tortured  breasts  while  heaving. 

Disporting   there    with   glee — 
Alas !    though   never  leaving, 

O'erwhelm    them    'neath    a    sea, 


36  Sdhya  Buddha: 

Whose   surges,   like   the   ocean's, 
High -toss   their  death-foamed   spray 

On   shores   in   wild   commotion. 
To   fret   life's    sands   awaj. 

Through   sylvan   glades   he    wandered, 

And   bosky   wilds   did   trace ; 
In   halcyon   mood   deep-pondered, 

As   rolled   Time's   wheels   apace. 
A   voice  from   Heaven  loud-sounding, 

Soon    smote   the   blue-tinged    air; 
While   warders  him    surrounding, 

Forth   voiced    a    deep-felt  prayer. 
To   rouse   their   Lord   and   Master, 

From   wolds   to    then    withdraw ; 
To   blazon   broad   each  Shaster, 

Proclaim  the  Heaven-sent  Law,    (11) 


Ifis  Life  and  Teachings*  37 


SECTIOIST  ni. 

What   time   a    soft-breathed   murmur 

From   insects   rose  on   air, 
And   smiled   the  green-clad   Summer, 

'Long   bloomy   dales   most   fair. 
He   pondered  then    with   gladness 

On    scenes   he  highly   prized; 
But   when   emplunged   in    sadness, 

He   thus    soliloquized : 

"  Within    this   leaf-fringed    wildwood, 
I'm   reft   of  friends   and   home; 

I   mind   me   of  my  childhood. 
Of  dells    I   once    did   roam, 


38       "  Sdkya  Buddha: 

Of  fortunes   left   behind   me, 
Of  mansions   towering   high, 

Of  regal   tlirone   to   bind   me — 
Upswells   the   deep-drawn    sigh 

"  These   eerie   hannts   moonlighted 
I've   traced   at   star-gemmed   eve; 

No   gruesome   gnomes   affrighted 
No    power   can   me   bereave 

Of  new-formed   hope   uprising, 
That   souls   forlorn   I  '11   save. 

Who  're   truth-born   laws    despising, 

Though   yawns   the   death-gloomed 
grave. 

"  O  'erclojing   and   illusive 
Is    each    fast-fading    thing; 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  39 

Fond   Hope   will   prove    seclucive 

Till    life    shall   take   its   wing; 
Unsphered    shall   be    each    spirit 

From    cumbrous    shard    of   clay ; 
Soul-rest   will   saints   inherit,    ' 

'Mid    bowers   Elysian    stray. 
To    Fame    the   sage    it   raises 

Who   delves   for   classic   lore; 
On   him    are   lavished   praises 

When   heart    can    pulse   no    more. 
Awards    at   death   are   meted 

To    each    self-cultured   man ; 
With    plaudits    he  '11   be    greeted 

By    Heaven's    angelic   clan. 

"  When   man    has  ceased  progressing, 
And   loses   much   he's   learned, 


40  '  Sdkya  Buddha: 

A   pang   we   feel   distressing 

To   see   his   life-tide   turned, 

While     on     rude     waves     he's     float- 
ing 

Bemazed   and   tempest-tost ; 
To   schemes   most   vague    devoting 
His   mind    distraught,   till   lost. 

"  Full     many     a     swain     hath     lan- 
guished. 

And   paled    'neath   passion's   blight; 
Full   many   a   heart   is    anguished, 

Engloomed   with   rayless   night. 
Like    surgeful    swinge    of  ocean. 

Is   borne   tlie    sin-swayed   man, 
In   passion's   wild   commotion, 

Till   death  his   course   shall   ban. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  4:1 

*  Earth's   noblest   souls   have    ever 

Bowed   low    'neath   Fortune's   frown, 
Whose   gyves   no   power   can   sever, 

"While,  grief-whelmed,  sinking  down. 
Are    some    who 're    oft   neglected. 

Fate-doomed   to   pine   alone. 
And   stem   life's   tide    dejected. 

Then  thi'id  Death's  maze  unknown.  (12) 

"  Sublime   is   man's   great   Teacher, 

Yclept   Dame    Nature   fair; 
The   thorn,    the   rose,   the   creature, 

She   guards    with    equal   care. 
In    cold   her  arms   we'll   slumber 

When    earth-life   blooms   no   more. 
Though   mortal   flesh-forms    cumber. 

Yet   death-freed    souls    shall   soar. 


42  Sdkya  Buddha  : 

"  From   withered   trunks   uprising, 

The  sprays  have  bloomed  with  leaves ; 
But,    what   seemed   more    surprising, 

While   tillers   gleaned   the  sheaves, 
The   leaves   from   young   trees    dying 

Were   mantling    o  'er   the   ground ; 
A   loom-gale    then   was   sighing — 

A   truth   new-born   smiled   round. 

"  To    live   in    song   or   story 

Must   bards    their   ease   forego,     (13) 
Aspire   for   well-earned   glory,' 

Breast   darkling   tides   of  woe; 
J.ift   burdened   souls   low-sinking 

'Neath   fell    misfortune's    blight: 
By   dint   of  high-aimed   thinking. 

One    soars    to  realms    of  light. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  43 

''  From  friends  wlio  've  flown  before  us 

The   grandest   truths   we    learn ; 
While   floats   their   love    still    o'er   us, 

The  Heaven-touched  heart  doth  yearn 
For   home   in   realms    supernal, 

Where  gloom  ne  'er  drowns  the  light ; 
Where   dwells   the    King   Eternal, 

High-throned  'mid  star-gems  bright. 

"  A   bard    through   inspiration 

'Bove    eyried   hights   can   soar, 
And   scan   the   broad    creation, 

Learn   truths    unknown    before; 
See   light-winged    spirits   floating 

Through   vasty    realms   above; 
To   earth-kin    oft   devoting 

Their   aid   with   ceaseless   love.     (14) 


M  SdJcya  Buddha: 

"While   siren    strains   so   sweetly 

Float   'neath.   the    gorgeous   sky, 
I  fancy   how   completely 

They  hush   the   rising   sigh. 
As  gay-plumed  songsters  cheer  me,     (15) 

With  wild-toned  notes  that  trill, 
Ko   bodings    darkle   near   me, 

No   dirge   mine   ear   doth   fill. 

Wreaths  wave  from  skies  suspended, 

Flowers  bloom   the   emerald   dale. 
And   odors   rare   are   blended 

Which   load   the   sighing   gale, 
Outbreathed   from   roses   blushing, 

Whose   tints   enchant   the   eye; 
Heaven's   arch   the   sun   is   flushing ! 

Clouds   fringe   the   verge   of  sky  \ 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  45 

"  On   wilding    syrts   of  meadow, 

While   gathering   light   dews   dance, 
I   roam    'twixt   sun    and   shadow 

Where   scenes   the   soul   entrance. 
I   love   the   full-flushed   Summer, 

To   hear   the   murmuring   rill. 
To   greet   each   glad   new-comer, 

While  joys   my   bosom   fill. 
O  'erpowering   is   the   splendor 

The   ambient   skies   reveal ; 
Fond   Hope   in   man  they   'gender 

When   dole   doth   o'er   him   steal. 

"  Seem   mirrored   clear   the    Seasons 

On   fadiug,    sentient   life ; 
Keveal   they  cogent   reasons 

Why  man    should  e'er   shun  strife. 


46  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

Spring   emblems   childhood's   morning; 

Youth     blooms     'neath     Summer's 
breath ; 

Crowned  Autumn  gives  Age  warning  ; 

Wan    Winter   bodeth    Death. 

"  From    chasmal   deeps   I've   risen 

Of  passion's    storm-roughed    sea ; 
Long   years   I've   pined   in   prison, 

I  '11   set   Sin's  pris'ners   free ! 
While   thralled   are  men   by  error, 

They   closely   hug   their   chains ; 
When   e  'er   o  'erborne   by   terror, 

They   cowering   blench   from   pains. 

"Impassioned  Youth   is  goaded 
By  scenes   of  madding   strife, 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  47 

While   ermined   Age  is  loaded 
With   cafe   through   waning   life. 

'Tis  'lone  by  self-denials 

Immortal  deeds  are   wrought; 

Though  gloomed  is   life   by  trials, 
With   guerdons   big   'tis   fraught. 

♦ 

"  Where    light    and    warmth    ne'er 
reigneth, 

To  life  the   grave-worms   spring, 

And     thrive     while     form     remain- 
eth. 

And   then   their   own  take   wing 
Through   earth's   evolving   changes, 

True-wrought  by  Nature's  scheme— 
This  thought-field   man   e'er  ranges. 

Till   lost  in   pensive   dream. 


48  Bdhya  Buddha : 


J 


"With   graves   the   land   is  billowed. 

Ills   lurk   in    every   place ; 
When   earth   our  heads  hath  pillowed. 

Light  forms  freed  souls  shall  grace. 
With   woe    man's   life   is   surging, 

Like   ocean's  foam-wreathed  waves ; 
To   Yama's   Maelstrom   verging — 

'Keath   passion's   fire   he   raves. 

"Death's  dark-palled  couch  is  dinted 

'By   fairest  .vestal   forms, 
Whose  cheeks  have  bloomed  rose-tinted, 

Suffused   with   glowing   charms; 
Which   clear   reveals  how   fleeting 

Is    e'er   all   mundane   life, 
'Gainst  wliich  rude  storms  are  beating. 

And   pains   and   ills    are   rife. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  40 

"  The  death-god  sports  with  mortals, 

Dread   evils   trail   behind ! 
Unbarred   are   his   Inige   portals. 

That   pass   must   human-kind; 
But   I'll   estop   all   sorrow, 

Sill's   tidal-surge   of  woes; 
Should  Hell-iiends   arm  to-morrow, 

I'd  front  those  dark- browed  foes!" 


50  Sdkya  Buddha  : 


SECTION  lY. 

The   storin-cloii  Is   soou   did   gatlier, 

Wide-palled   the   \velkin'3   face, 
Portending   wildest   weather, 

"While    thunders   rolled    apace. 
The   fitful   blasts    careering 

Bowed   low    the    Sala's    crest ; 
The  heavens   wide-flamed   appearing — 

The   storm-gods  laughed   with  zest ; 
Anon,    the    swift-forked    lightning 

A-danced    athwart    the    sky ; 
No    forces    round    him    tightening 

Did    cause    a    deep-drawn    sigh. 


ilis  Life  and  Teachings.  51 

In   Pansal  sought   lie   shelter, 

While  raved  the  cloud-wrapt  storm ; 
On    moss-fringed   couch    did   welter 

Through  long  niglit-tide  till  mom  ; 
Then    darkled    on    his    vision 

Weird   scenes    of  coming    strife, 
Which   mocked   in   wild    derision, 

As   Mara    sought   his   life; 
But   Indra   him   protected, 

Repelled    the   puissant   foes; 
His   life   had   been   perfected 

Through   penance    and   repose. 

When   forth   he    stately   sallied. 

Hell's  missiles  straight  were  hurled; 

With  virile  thews  he  rallied 

To   save  a  woe-doomed   world.     (16) 


52  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

He    met   King    Bimbasara 

Sn    route   for   famed   Benares, 
Who  joined   him    as   wayfarer, 

Disbiird'ning    him    of   cares. 
When   reached    was    that   great    city, 

The    eye   full-flowed   with    tears ; 
The    Fakirs   roused   his   pity 

When  flung  they  taunts  and  jeers; 
But   there   the   Master   founded 

His   grand   truth-gloried    cause ; 
Through   realms   his   fame   resounded, 

Profound   were    all   his   laws ! 

He  'leged  that  e'en  repentance 
From    sin    could   none   absolve; 

That  God's  unbending  sentence 
In    gloom    would    man   involve. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  53 

From  which  no  shrive  could  save  liim, 

ItTor   stay   the   tide   of  woes ; 
That  passion's  surge  would  lave  him, 

Till   whelmed   'neath   lethal   throes. 
Unless   by   long   abstention 

A   well- wrought   life   secured, 
And    ceased   fore'er   contention 

With   those    to   crime   inured. 

He    oft   was   heard  bemoaning 

That   sin   enthralled   the   mind; 
No  blood   for  crimes   atoning 

He   shed,  to   save   mankind; 
But   voiced   in   lucid   manner, 

If  passions   were   subdued, ' 
The    soul   would   reach   Nirvana,     (IT) 

Where   woe-wails   ne'er   intrude. 


54:  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

"  Lend    aid   betime  to    others, 

Your   gifts   'mong   poor  bestrew; 
Be    kind    to    all    as   brothers, 

In   Friendship's   bonds   prove   true. 
When   e'er    an    o'ergloomed  mortal 

Doth   plain    'neath   blighting   care. 
Fling   wide   the    strong-hinged   portal, 

Your   home   then   let   him   share. 

"Ne'er   mind   if  e'en   thy  neighbor 

Of  gold   should   have   galore, 
And   thou   art   doomed    to   labor. 

Depressed   b}^   trials   sore. 
While   shroffs   are    wealth    amassing. 

They    dwarf   the   godlike   mind; 
But   strange   it   seems   surpassing 

That   gold   should    mortals   blind. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  65 

"  To   fragile,   luring   fashions 

Tlie   prideful   swain    e'er  yields ; 
"While   lashed   by   fiery   passions, 

He   treads   o'er   death-sown   fields. 
Ah,   me !    what   dire    diseases 

Blight   fairest   forms   of  clay ! 
The   gem   the   eye    most   pleases, 

Time    dims   its   sheen   for   aye. 

"If  man   ignores   provision 

In  youth   for  toil-worn   age. 
He  '11   meet   with   cold    derision 

From    e'en    the    stoic    sage; 
And   bale   will   sure   betide   him, 

O'erwhelm   with   deep    despair, 
Whrle  purse-proud  churls  will  chide  him, 

Misfortunes   him   o'erbear."     (18) 


50  Sdhja  Buddha  : 

He   taught   each   staid   believer 

The   lord   to   be   of  self; 
To   yield    to   no   deceiver, 

Nor   strive   for   sordid   pelf; 
That   man   should   be   reflective, 

Scan   peerless   truth-gems   bright. 
Till   loom   on   his   perspective 

Hesplendent   worlds   of  light. 

He   banned   the   nse   of  drinking 

Of  Soma   e*en    a    draught; 
Alleged    that   clearly   thinking 

To  Heaven  would  incense  waft.    (19) 
He   oft  dispraised   all   fashions 

Which   maidens   daft   decoy ; 
The   wild   and   sordid   passions, 

Wbicli   base-souled   lechers   cloy. 


His  Lifa  and  Teachings.  67 

Ko  marshaled,  blood-smeared   legions 

His   cause   sublime   e'er   spread  ; 
Through   earth's   subastral   regions, 

Ko  gore  hath  marked  its  tread.    (20) 
For   all   religions    other, 

Aggressive   clans   have   fought; 
Set   brother  'gainst   his   brother, 

Till  vesture-shrouds  were  wrought. 

He   phrased   sublime    Commandments, 
Ensouled  with  germ-thoughts  great. 

To   guide   his   staid    attendants. 
And   kings   enthroned   in   state. 

Through   aeons   they'll  wax   stronger. 
Spread   wide   from   shore   to   shore, 

Till   suns   shall  rise   no   longer  ! 

Moons    roll    through    heaven    no 
more  !     (21) 


58  Sdkya  Buddha : 


sectio:n"  y. 

The   Chandelali   and   Sooder 

Were   doomed   by   feudal   caste 
To   bondage,   but   Lord   Buddlia 

Their   fetters   rived   at   last;     (22) 
But   still   the   birth-proud    Brahman 

To   transmigration   clings ; 
With   this   the   wary   Shaman 

Oft   sways   the   sceptered   kings. 
No   torrid  clime   tribes   color, 

Scarce  swarts  a  light-skinned  race; 
If  proof  you'd   have   still   fuller. 

We'll  now  their   beings  trace 


His  -Life  and  Teachings.  59 

Where   black   and   white   together 

Bask  'neath   a   tropic   sun — 
'Gainst   clime,    or   stress  of  weather, 

His   color   holds   each   one.     (23) 
How   long   shall   caste  'mong   races 

With   gyves   frail    mortals  bind  ? 
The   serfs   have   left   their  traces 

In   blood-marks   deep   behind. 

From   ooze   upheaved   by   ocean, 

Perchance    earth-life   first   sprung; 
The   theory    false,   or   notion, 

Of  which   have   ancients   sung. 
That   man   was   erst   created. 

And   formed   from   dust   of  ground, 
In    sooth   is   now   berated 

By   scholars  most  profound. 


60  Sdkya  Buddha: 

The   bard   was   deemed   nigh   frantic 
Who   boldly   once    assumed, 

"  Where   rolls   the   broad   Atlantic, 
Wide  continents  have  bloomed."   (24) 

Earth  reels  'neath  shocks  and  changes ! 
Upheaves   a   fiery   spray !     (25) 

Through   vast   creation's   changes, 

*^  God  holds   o'erpowering   sway ! 

Ere   formed   was   man   or   nation 

Of  which   famed  Moses   sings, 
Or   rose   the   vast   creation, 

Time   waved   his   eyas   wings. 
When  'merged   from   deeps   of  quiet, 

All   power   did   God   assume. 
Forth   issued   then   his   fiat, 

Made  earth  primordial  bloom. 


His  Life  a7id  Teachings.  61 

Man  copes  with  deatli-blanclied  Winter, 

When   rave   the   wildest   storms ; 
Then   Nature's   powers   concenter, 

Engend'ring   wondrous   forms, 
Which  forth  new-born  come  teeming, 

When  flowering  Spring  smiles  round ; 
Though  life  had  long  seemed  dreaming 

'Neath  brumal  blight  o'er  ground. 
Where   blooms   the    Orient   Summer, 

How  changed   the   scene   is   there! 
While   floats    a    drowsy   murmur 

Of  insect-life   through   air. 

When    Sung-Yun   and   Fah-Hian     (26) 

A   pilgrimage   once   made, 
From    China's   walls   to   Siam, 

Where   w^aved   the   Bo-tree's   shade. 


62    -  Sclhya  Buddha  : 

Saw   forms   of  footsteps   molded, 

"Where   rose   a   towering   mound ; 
"Which   fact   they  soon  unfolded 

To   cloistered   monks   profound. 
'T  is   'leged   by   ethnic   sages, 

This   Prince   of  giant-mind, 
On   firm-set  rocks   of  ages. 

Left  footprints   bold   behind  ;     (27) 
'Tis   clear   those   pilgrims   noted, 

Who   left  their   sea-laved  strand, 
Their   lives   to   Buddh'   devoted. 

Whose   cause   o'erspread   the   lando 

The  wide-famed   Zoroaster, 
Whom   Parsees   all   adore, 

Was   once   a   deep-versed   Master, 
And    taught   as   none   before ; 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  63 

Who   long  preceded   Moses     (28) 

In   founding   liis   great  cause — 
The   mart-bred   Jew   opposes 

His   soul-inspiring  laws. 
'Mong   Hindoos  now   are   living 

This   famed   archaic   sect, 
Whose   code   is   Mobed's   giving, 

Forth   calling   high   respect.     (29) 

When  kernelike,   vile   marauders 

Hobbed   India   long   ago, 
O'errunnuig  her  vast  borders, 

While  trailed   most   direful  woe, 
The   Moslems   them   abetted. 

Like   lions   foraged  bold; 
To   Hindoos  they're   indebted 

For  filching   once  their  gold.     (30) 


64  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

Those   heathen   have   been   plundered 

Bj  e'en   the    Christian   world, 
"Whose  cannons  flamed  and  thundered, 

Projectiles   wildly   hurled.     (31) 
As   famines   fell   beset   them, 

Death   smites  with   giant   hand ; 
May   England   ne'er  forget   them ! 

"Woe  glooms  that  wealth-famed  land ! 


His  -Life  and  Teachings.  65 


SECTION   YI. 

Great   Heber   hymned   in   kindness 

The   ode   that's   world-wide   known- 
How   "  heathen   in   their   blindness 

Bow   down   to   wood   and   stone." 
Ne'er    mortal   more   mistaken, 

For   none   on   India's   shore 
His    God   has   e'er   forsalien, 

To   idols   false   adore.     (32) 
How   misconceived   the   notion 

That  Hindoos   in  tlieir   zeal, 
Or   e'en   in   grave   devotion, 

Shonld   holy   rev'rence   feel 


66  Sdkya  Buddha  : 

For   idols   man-created, 


■■> 


Which   bear   no    conscious    sway — 
Their  love   for   God   be   sated 

With    crass- wrought   forms    of  clay. 
Such   emblems   clear   betoken 

That   Bralim'  is  always   nigh.; 
Whene'er   his   laws   they  Ve   broken, 

Upheaves   the    soul-felt   sigh. 

That   land   whence    all   religions, 

All    dialects   first   sprung; 
From   thence   to   gelid   regions 

A  dazing  sheen  they've  flung.     (33) 
Such   lore   through   vast    dominions 

Sets   free   the   trammeled   mind. 
And    borne    on   lightning's   pinions, 

Illumes   all   human-kind.. 


His  Life  ccnd  Teachings.  67 

We    sing   of   Greenland's   mountains, 

Of  India's   coral   strand, 
Of  Afric's   golden   fountains — 

The   paean   ne'er   will   stand 
The   rigid   test   of  reason, 

Whose   whelming   stress   we   ply; 
It 's   pealed   through   fanes   a   season, 

In   Lethe's   shade   't  will   die  ! 

Earth   teems  with   countless   billions, 

Of  Christ   who  've   never   heard ; 
To   punish   one,   or   millions. 

Indeed   'twould   be   absurd! 
Great   Heaven!    the   good   All-father 

Will   ne'er  the   heathen   damn; 
Believe   had   I  much   rather 

All  priest-wrought  creeds  are  sham  t 


68  Sctkya  Biiddha : 

This   pride-puffed,    all-wise   nation 

Boasts   wondrous   march   of  mind; 
•  Withholds   all   veneration 

For   ao^es   left   behind. 
I've    e'er   in   sooth   regretted 

That   moderns   weakness   show ; 
To   pagans   they  're   indebted 

For   all   of   God   they   know!     (34) 

The   tribal   nomads   sordid 

Of  ancient  Jewish   clans 
Assume    they   first   recorded 

Grod's   soul-redemptive   plans. 
In    torrid    climes   then   dwellino: 

Were   tribes   who  'd   never   heard 
Of  seers   'gainst    God   rebelling, 

Though  taught  'tis  in  his  Word.  (35) 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  69 

Xo   youth   with   zeal   impassioned 

Truth's   banner   e'er   unfurled, 
l^ov  roused  by  schemes  well-fashioned 

A   slumb'rous   church,    or   world. 
Long   years,   wdth   wealth   of  learning 

It   needs   creed-forms   to    scan ; 
The    self-taught    sage    while   yearning 

For    light   will   lead   the   van. 

He   knows   not   one    religion, 

The    man    who   knows   but   one ; 
In   thought's   vast,   bournless   region 

The    search   he 's  just   begun. 
Though   false    to    many    a   scholar 

This   paradox   may    seem. 
But   not   to   languaged    Miiller, 

With   like    whose   volumes    teem. 


YO  ...  8dkya  Buddha : 

He's   rendered   close   translations, 

From   Sanskrit   obsolete, 
The   works   of  Orient   nations. 

Both   matchless   and    complete. 
His  pond'rous  tomes  have  brought  me 

From    Error's   mazy   way; 
Soul-rousing  truths  they've  taught  me, 

Which  glow  with  keenest  ray ! 


Mis  Life  and  Teachings.  Tl 


SECTION     YIL 

As   Krislina    of  Mathura     (36) 

Had    once   grand    ethics   tanglit. 
The    Lord   Biiddh'    felt   the    surer  - 

His  Laws  with  trntlis  were  fraught; 
That    oil    the  J  'd    spread   forever, 

Leave    deep    their   trace   behind; 
All   mental   gyves   would    sever, 

Which   long   had    thralled    mankind. 

I've    conned    Milesian   fables, 
Homaunts   of  olden   times ; 

With   ease   which   me   enables 
To    sketch    with   flowing   rhymes 


72  Sdkya  Buddha: 

The   Lord   who   ne'er   was   thwarted 
In   deep-laid    schemes    or   plans — 

His   laws   have    been   distorted, 
Heviled   by   fleering   clans. 

He   flourished   long   anterior 

To   the   godlike   Nazarene ; 
Is   deemed  by   some   superior 

In   lore,   if  not   in   mien ; 
The   truth    of  which   I'll   never 

Assume,   or   e'en    decide; 
They'll   both   live   on   forever — 

In  liearts   they  '11   sure    abide ! 

The   "sheep"    Christ    once    elected 
In   mansions    dwell   on   high; 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  73 

The    "goats"  he    then   rejected 
In   gloom   heave   many    a    sigh — 

O'erwhehned    with   lethal    an  Ornish, 
O'erawed   by   hostile   foes ; 

In    exile    doomed   to   languish 

With   no   surcease   of  woes.     (37) 

When  mordant   priests    of  Brahma 

Assailed   the   Lord   at   length, 
On    thesis    styled    Nirvana 

He   coped    with   mental   strength; 
Averred   that   self-denial 

Would   lift   the   burdened   soul, 
Whene'er   o'erborne    by   trial, 

And   surges   o'er   it  roll. 
The   Llama   throned   at   Thibet     (38) 

Spreads   wide   his   Master's   cause, 


74  Sdkya  Buddha  : 

And   staidlj   doth   exhibit 
His   Heaven-inspired   laws : 

Which   code   of  matchless   morals 
The   Ethnics   highly   prize ; 

It's  won  him  Fame's  proud  laurels, 
A   home   in    astral   skies. 

Where  smiled  the  banks  of  'I^oma, 

He  whiled  the  swift-winged  hours ; 
Mandaras   breathed   aroma 

In   garths   y-prankt   with  flowers. 
His  mind  in  self-wrought  splendor 

'Bove    Fakirs'   towering   rose; 
With   flexile    cadence   tender 

Did   laws   profound    disclose, 

Wliich    bore    the    "wheel,"    slow-turn- 
ing    (39) 

Througli  all  that  caste  swayed  realm  ; 


iris  Life  and  Teachings.  7S 

With   love   intensely   burning 
He   seized   tlie   swajful   helm 

To  guide  the  ship  while  tossing     (^0) 

On   life's   wide-weltering   surge. 

Which   loomed   while   she   was   cross- 
ing 

Death's   gulf  near   Heaven's   verge. 

Along   that   winding   river 

Whose   marge   was   fringed   with 
trees, 
Wide-roamed   the   great   Law-giver, 

Whose   tenets   seemed   to   please 
The   cowled   monks  world-secluded 

Througli   stormful   scenes   of  life — 
Saved   foes   who'd   been   deluded 

By   wild   uproar    of  strife. 


7G  Sdhya  Buddha  : 

Regaled  witli  odors  floating. 
He   culled   ambrosial   flowers; 

To   themes   sublime   devotirio^ 

His   wondrous   godlike   powers. 

Tlie   wind-swung   bowers   while   thrid- 
ding, 

Life   danced   with   pleasaunce  gay ; 

His   eye   naught   smote   forbidding, 

As   flung   Hope's   star   its   ray. 

What   time   light   mists   were   falling, 
On    rolled   Night's   wheels   apace, 

And   gloom   waxed    most   appalling, 
Then   veiled  was   Nature's   face ; 

A   voice   he   lieard   low-speaking 

(While     opening    heavens     dis- 
pread)     (41) 


Ills  Life  and  Teachings.  77 

Of  truths   he'd   long   been   seeking 
From    earth's    departed   dead, 

Who   tidings   bore,   revealing 

Things   mortals   ne'er   had   learned — 

On    volant   vans    swift- wheeling. 
To   radiant   realms   returned. 

In   life's   wide,    storm-vexed   ocean. 

Where    death-foamed   billows    rise, 
And   sport   in   wild    commotion, 

A   flowering   island   lies. 
Where    spirit-guides    most   timely 

Uplift   the   care-bowed   man; 
Wldle   heaven   o'ertowers   sublimely. 

Yon   star-sown   vault   he  '11   scan. 
Oft   many   a   sage   arises 

By    aid   from    spirit- world ; 


78  SdJcya  Buddha  : 

Oft   many   a   dolt   despises 
Till   down   to   ruin   hurled. 

Ill-starred   is   that   lorn   being 

Who'll   stark   close   eyes   and   ears 

His  earth-flown  friends  from  seeing. 
And   fling   his   railing   sneers. 

In   realms   that   know   no    Summer, 

I^or   fields   nor   blossoms   fair; 
Engloomed  like  drear  Gehenna,     (42) 

He  '11   ffions   languish   there, 
With  fiends  who  truth  once  slighted. 

Till  Hope's  star  glowed  in  vain ; 
Alas  !     woe-plunged,   benighted  ! 

In  thrall  he  '11  e'er  remain  !     (43) 


His  Ijifo  dnd  Taachingfi.  79 


SECTION   YIII. 

In   towering   fanes    of  Krisl^na,     (44) 
That   kissed    the    gorgeous   clouds, 

To   swell    the    praise    of  Yishnu, 
Once   gathered    saintly   crowds. 

Tlie   Lord   Buddh'   him   succeeded, 
And   sagely   taught   mankind ; 

The  world  profoundly  needed 


His  wealth  of  thought-throned  mind. 


Antique   was   his   religion 
Ere   Beth'lem's  star   arose ; 

Though  zoned  in  tliat  far  region, 
It   still   sublimely    grows.     (45) 


80  Sdhja  Buddha  : 

Yast   legions   now   adore    him 
With  love   that's   most   sublime; 

In   fanes   they   bow   before   him, 
"Where  blooms   that  floral   clime. 

A   stance   he   held   befitting, 

Grand   truths    to    teach   mankind. 
While    brilliant    thoughts   were   flitting 

As   lightning   tln*ough    the    mind. 
With   Mara's    cohorts  figliting, 

Won   baj^s   he   t'^vo-score   years ; 
His   life   revealed    through   Avriting 

To    all   sublime    appears. 

The    world    hath    crowned    Kedeem- 

ers    (46)  H 

Ere  death  did  Ohrist  betide ; 


iris  Life  and  Teachings.  81 

Unlike    all    puerile   dreamers, 
They've  laws   extended   wide. 

The   Lord   Buddh'  was   the   true   one, 
The    Ariel   grand   of  jore ! 

"With    mind-wealth    'twill   endue    one 
His  tomes   to    scan   for   lore. 

I  '11   cling    to  .  this    All-savior, 

While    borne    on    life's*  wide    sea ! 
And    hope    by    staid    behavior 

From   tlirall    he'll   set    me   free — 
Bestow    his    promised   guerdon 

In    Heaven's   eternal    day ; 
I   fain    would    bear   a    burden 

His    cause    to    spread    for   aye. 
From  life's  lone  vale  he  's  brought  me 

To    blaze    liis    fame    witli    song ; 


82  Sakya  Buddha  : 

Profound  are  laws  lie's   taught   me, 
In   faith    I  'm   waxing   strong !     (47) 

When  forth  he  strolled  one  ev'ning, 

A  youth  o'ergloomed  he  met,     (48) 

Distraught     with     soul -pierced     griev- 
ing 

For   one    she  'd   ne'er   forget. 

"Earth's     dead,"     he     'leged,     "are 
many, 

The   living    are   but   few ; 
Exempt  from  death  aren't  any, 

Each   bids    dear   frie^nds   adieu. 
In   yon    star-gloried   Heaven 

The   loved    and    lost   will   meet; 
Your  anguished  heart,  though  riven, 

The  child  again  you'll  greet." 


His  Life  a7id  TeacJmigs.  83 

'MoDg  graves  embloomed  I've  wandered, 

From  life's  ga-y  scenes  have  fled ; 
In  sad-tuned  mood  deep-pondered 

Long    o'er    the   soul-flown    dead. 
When    once   most    sorely   worried, 

At   Night's   deep   noon,    alone. 
In   hands   with   worn   face   buried, 

What   time   the   queen-moon   shone, 
I   thought   of  his   vast   learning — 

How  world-wide  famed  was  he. 
And   felt    intensive   yearning 

His   light-robed  form  to  see. 
In  vine-wreathed  bower  while  kneeling, 

With   mien   surpassing   fair. 

Mine    eye   he   passed   swift-wheeling, 

Then   heavenward   soared   througli 
air.     (49) 


84  Sdkya  Buddha : 

In  spire-crowned    fanes  where  kneeling 

The    Hindoos    oft   were    seen, 
He    there   was   heard   reveah'ns: 

The   law    with    stately    mien. 
With   voice    soft-toned   as    Brahma's, 

Of  which   have    minstrels   song ; 
His   most   engaging   manners 

O'er   all   enchantment   fluno-. 

To    realms    tliis    Sage    ascended,      (50) 

"Where  gloom  ne'er  drowns  the  day  ; 
By   Indra's   host   attended, 

Who   winged   their    easy    way. 
While   lono^   he    there   was   living: 

'Mid   bloom   of  bowerj^   spheres, 
His   law   he   then    was    o-ivins: 

To   all   the   white-robed   Seers. 


His  Life  and  Teachings.  85 

When    'gain    to    earth   returning, 

His   last   great   work   renewed ; 
For   souls   felt   deepest   yearning, 

With   godlike   gifts   endued. 
With   eye   serenely   rolling, 

He   scanned   the    ways   of  men; 
Bore   tidings  -most   consoling 

To   lift   one   now   and   then 
From   deeps   of  drear   desponding. 

While   laslied   by   passion's   goad. 
From   virtue's   path    absconding. 

Till   lost   on    Deatli's   wide   road. 

His   fame   now   reaches    Heaven ! 

Hell's   baleful   bower   beneath! 
Soul-lifting   truths   he's   given, 

Quaint   maxims   did   bequeath. 


^ 


% 


86  Sakya  Buddha: 

Effete  creed-forms  are  dying, 
O'errolls   them   Lethe's   wave; 

For   life    are   theorists    sighing 

Which   blooms   beyond    the   grave. 

To  limn  this  well-starred  Ariel 

Now   fails   my   mortal   pen; 
To    soar   to   worlds   sidereal, 

Beyond   the   scope   of  ken, 
My  Muse  hath  callow  pinions. 

And   dares   no   lofty   flight; 
But   gropes   in   earth's   dominions, 

'Neath   Fortune's   bloom    or   blio;ht. 


Through  flown  decades  he'd  noted 
Wild   scenes   of  horrent   strife; 


Mis  Life  and  Teachings.  87 

His  storm-beat  bark  then  floated 
Down   foam-flecked   tides   of  life, 

Which   fretted   shores   were   lashing 
"With   mantling    drifts   of  spray; 

In  fiendish   glee   were   dashing 
With   bold,    gigantic   sway.     (51) 

In   rose-wreathed   bowers    of  Malla, 

'Mid   weird-lit   vistas   rare. 
While   prone   'neath   towering   Sala, 

He   voiced    a   deep-toned   prayer. 
The    death-god   him   was   nearing, 

The  film-touched   eye   to   close ; 
When    shorn    of  sight    and    hearing, 

He  swooned  in  life's  last  throes. 
Soul-tranced    this   clay-robed    mortal 

On   couch   supine   did   lie, 


88  Sdkya  Buddha. 

Till   wide    was   flung   Death's   portal, 
Then   soared    to    worlds   most   high. 

A   woe-bowed    host   assembled, 

Whose  wails  through  air  forth  pealed ; 

Earth    widly   rocked   and   trembled, 
Mount  Meru  tottering  reeled  !     (52) 


ANNOTATIONS. 

The  Grand  Being's  miraculous  conception 
and  birth  were  accompanied  by  convulsions  in 
Nature,  and  prodigies  in   the   skies. 

When  the  auspicious  babe  was  born  of 
Queen  Maya,  "  a  minister  in  state  named  Ba- 
sita,  in  company  with  distinguished  Brahmans, 
visited  the  garden  of  Lumbini.  While  there 
convened,  Basita  addressed  the  ministers  and 
said :  '  Do  you  perceive  how  tlie  great  earth 
is  rocked  like  a  ship  borne  over  the  waves? 
See  how  the  sun  and  moon  are  darkened  of 
their  light ;  just  as  the  stars  of  night  in  their 
appearance  !  See  how  all  the  trees  are  blos- 
soming, as  if  the  season  had  come — listen ! 
there  is  a  roll  of  thunder !    and   though  there 


90  Buddha^s  Life  and  Teachings. 

be  no  clouds,  yet  the  soft  raiii  is  falling  ;  so 
beautifully  fertilizing  in  its  qualities  !  and  the 
air  is  moved  by  a  gentle  and  cool  breeze  com- 
ing from  the  eight  quarters — and  hark  to  the 
sound  of  that  music  of  Brahma,  so  sweetly 
melodious  in  the  air !  and  all  the  Devas  chant- 
ing their  hymns  and  praises !  while  flowers 
and  sweet  unguents  rain  down  through  the 
void  ! ' 

"  Such  were  some  of  the  prodigies  which 
appeared  when  the  King,  the  Descendant*  of 
Mighty  Conquerors ;  the  Holy  Grand  Man,  the 
Highest  Crown ;  the  Perfection  of  All  Power ; 
the  Infinitely  Meritorious  Lord,  excelling  all — 
descended  from  the  Tushita  heavens,  and  was 
conceived  in  the  world  of  men." — BeaVs  and 
Alabaster' s  Life  of  Buddha^  conjoined. 

(2-) 
"  Iiidra  is   the  king  of  angels.     His  palace 

is  in  the  second  tier  of  heavens,  reckoning  from 


Annotations.  91 

the  earth,  called  Dawadungsa.  There  the 
thoiisand-eyed  Lord,  as  he  is  called,  is  attended 
by  myriads  of  angels.  His  charger  is  the  three- 
headed  elephant  Erawan,  and  his  great  weapon 
the  disk  Cliakra,  with  which  he  drives  from 
heaven  the  fallen  angels  Asura.  Among  other 
treasures,  he  has  for  a  trumpet  a  huge  chank- 
sliell,  of  the  kind  still  held  precious  by  East- 
ern kings. 

"Ko  Hindoo  deity,  unless  it  be  the  great 
Brahma  himself,  is  so  frequently  introduced  in 
the  Siamese  legends  as  is  Indra,  to  whose  in- 
spiration they  attribute  one  of  their  oldest 
books  on  the  principles  of  the  law." — Ala- 
baster. 

(3.) 

The  Prince  on  entering  school  confounded 
his  teacher  Yisvamitra,  the  same  as  Jesus  did 
Zaccheus,  the  schoolmaster  at  Jerusalem.  There 
is  a  striking  similarity  in  the  account  of  Jesus 
given  in  the  Apochryphal  New  Testament  and 


92  Buddha's  Life  and  Teachings. 

the  one  given  by  the  biographers  of  Buddha.* 
It  is  said  that  while  Yisvamitra  stood 
abashed  in  the  presence  of  the  marvelous  child, 
there  came  from  the  Tusliita  heavens  a  cer- 
tain Deva,  accompanied  by  comitless  other 
Devas,  and  chanted  this  song : 

"Whatever  arts  there   are  in  the   world, 
Whatever  Sutras  and   Shasters, 
This  child  is  thorough  acquainted   with  all, 
And   is  able  to  teach  them  to   others." 

•  ••••••• 

The  Deva  having  finished  this  hymn,  show- 
ered down  on  the  Prince  every  sort  of  flower, 
and  returned  to  liis  abode.  Tlie  historic  record 
of  the  early  career  of  the  Prince  is  so  diffuse 
that  lack  of  space  will  only  allow  a  summa- 
rized   account    to    be    cited.      I   will   add,    en 

*  On  this  subject  Bishop  Bigandet  says:  *'In  read- 
ing the  particulars  of  the  life  of  the  last  Buddha, 
Gautama,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  reminded  of 
many  circumstances  relating  to  our  Savior's  life,  such 
as  it  has  been  sketched  out  by  the  Evangelists." 


Annotations.  93 

passant^  that  the  youth,  with  his  precocious 
and  prehensile  mind,  confounded  his  teachers 
in  all  sciences  and  competitive  exercises. 

■    (4-) 
History  informs  us  that   when   the   Prince 

first   \dsited    the   pleasure-garden   of  Lumbini, 

his  stately  majesty  and  exceeding  beauty  evoked 

from  the  spectators   the  wildest  enthusiasm. 

(5.) 

When  the  horoscope  was  cast  by  the  Brah- 

manical  soothsayers  on  the  destiny  of  the 
Prince,  it  was  alleged  that  if  he  should  ever 
learn  that  man  was  doomed  to  old  age,  sick- 
ness, disease,  and  deatli,  he  would  withdraw 
from  the  palace,  and  become  a  religious  ascetic. 
Accordingly,  King  Suddhodana  used  every  pre- 
caution to  prevent  his  ever  coming  in  contact 
with  such  dread  evils;  but  when  the  Prince 
was  permitted  to  visit  the  pleasure-gardens,  on 
hia  way  he  saw  them  all  in  thi  ir  direst  forms. 


94  BuddhoCs  Life  and  Teachings. 

After  returning  to  the  palace,  a  voice  came 
from  Space  exhorting  him  to  flee  from  that 
high-viced  city  to  some  sylvan  retreat. 

"  Before  leaving  the  palace,  a  bevy  of  lovely 
and  fascinating  girls  surrounded  him,  striving, 
by  dancing,  music  and  songs,  to  attract  his 
thoughts  to  pleasure ;  but  all  their  enticements 
were  vain.  He  now  no  longer  found  satisfac- 
tion in  such  things,  and,  heeding  them  not, 
he  soon  fell  asleep.  Then  Indra,  exerting  his 
miraculous  powers,  caused  these  ladies  to  sleep 
in  a  most  unseemly  manner,  quite  different  to 
that  usual  with  ladies  of  high  birth  and  good 
education.  Some  of  them  snored  loudly ;  oth- 
ers lay  with  their  mouths  wide  open;  others 
gnashed  their  teeth ;  others  rolled  about  in  un- 
graceful attitudes.  When  the  Grand  Being 
awoke,  and  looked  around,  his  heart  sank 
within  him.  He  conceived  a  disgust  for  worldly 
life,  and  regarded  his  royal  palace  full  of  lovely 
women    as  a  cemetery   full   of  horrid   corpses. 


Annotations.  95 

Tlie  more  lie  looked,  the  more  sorrowful  lie 
became — the  more  his  heart  quaked  for  the 
miseries  of  circling  existence." 

Moved  bj  such  sights,  he  determined  to 
lead  a  religious  life  without  delay.  At  mid- 
night's deepening  gloom,  he  mounted  his  royal 
steed  Kantaka,  and  was  borne  from  the  sinful 
haunts  of  that  grand  emporium,  whose  massive 
gates  silently  self-opened. 

At  dawn's  first  faint  flush,  he  reached  the 
smiling  banks  of  the  l!Tairanjana  river,  whose 
turbulent  waters  rolled  near  ihQ  fringe  of  a 
stately  forest,  where  legions  of  angels  greeted 
him  with  songs  of  ravishing  sweetness. 

He  then  made  the  following  resolution: 
"Bather  would  I  have  my  body  crushed  by  a 
rock,  rather  would  I  drink  the  deadliest  poi- 
son, or  starve  myself  to  death,  than  not  to 
fulfil  my  vow  to  save  all  flesh  from  tlie  fear- 
ful ocean  of  bii'th  and  death." 


9G  BiiddhcCs  Life  and  Teachings, 

(6.) 
"  Mara  is  the  god  of  love,  and  of  death. 
Though  tills  king  plays  the  part  of  our  Satan 
the  tempter,  he  and  his  hosts  were  formerly 
great  almsgivers,  which  led  to  their  being  in 
the  highest  Deva  heavens,  there  to  live  nine 
thousand  millions  of  years,  suri-ounded  by  all 
the  luxuries  of  sensuality.  From  this  heaven 
the  filthy  one,  as  the  Siamese  describe  him, 
descends  to  the  earth  to  tempt  and  excite  to 
evil." — A  labaster. 

(7.) 

As  a  marked  episode  in  the  career  of 
Buddha  transpired  in  connection  with  his  part- 
ing with  Ins  Princess-consort,  I  wdll  state  that 
Yasodhara  had  borne  him  a  son  named  Ra- 
hul a. 

Some  writers  have  censured  the  Prince  for 
leaving  home  and  kindred  to  become  a  reli- 
gious teacher;  but  let  it  be  remembered  that 
his  family  was  dowered  with  the  affluence  of 


Annotations.  9Y 

the  kingdom.  To  accomplisli  his  great  work 
of  founding  his  sublime  religion,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  withdraw  from  the  sinful  surround- 
ings of  the  palace,  and  retire  to  the  wilds  of 
a  forest. 

(8.) 
In  BeaPs  Life  of  Buddha  appears  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  of  his  once  making  an  serial 
flight  over  the  sacred  Ganges :  "  He  said  to 
the  boatman,  '  Braj,  take  me  over  tlie  river.' 
To  whom  the  boatman  replied,  '  If  jou  can 
pay  me  the  fare,  I  will  willingly  take  you  over 
the  river.'  Buddha  said,  '  I  have  no  money  to 
pay  you.'  To  whom  the  boatman  replied, 
'This  is  the  only  mear.s  I  have  of  a  liveli- 
hood for  my  wife  and  children.'  At  this  mo- 
ment a  flock  of  wild-geese  flew  over  the 
Ganges.  Then  said  the  world-honored  one, 
'  How  did  those  geese  cross  the  Ganges  ? ' 
The  boatman  replied,  '  By  their  inlierent  power 
of  flying.'     '  So   I,   by   my   inherent,   spiritual 


98  Buddha  s  Life  and  Teachings. 

power,  will  cross  tlie  Ganges,  though  the  south 
bank  tower  higher  than  Mount  Meru.'  Then, 
by  inherent,  spiritual  power,  he  passed  over 
the  Ganges.  Continuing  his  flight  to  Benares, 
he  alighted  among  the  Rishis,  founded  his  reli- 
gion,   and   thousands    of  the   citizens  espoused 

his  cause." 

If  the  reader  regards  this  miracle  as  im- 
probable, or  impossible,  he  should  remember 
that  Jesus  is  represented  as  having  once  Avalked 
upon  the  storm  -  roughed  sea  of  Genesareth. 
(Matt,  xiv,  24-,  ct  seq.) 

(9.) 
A   Pansal   is    a    "  leafy    hut,    or    sheltered 
abode." 

(10.) 
In  the  forest  TTrnwela,  near  the  banks  of 
the  JSTairanjana  river,  the  Prince  Siddartha 
!ived  a  hermit-like  life,  doing  penance  six 
years  amid  bowery'  shades,  w^ithdrawn  froui 
society  and  endeared  friends. 


Annotations.  99 

(11.) 

"  Whilst  the  world-honored  one  has  arrived 
at  perfect  wisdom,  he  has  acquired  that  un- 
equaled  Law ;  he  has  become  perfectly  enlight- 
ened, and  yet  he  has  suddenly  resolved  on 
Aranya  as  a  place  of  abode,  and  not  to  declare 
his  Law  for  the  good  of  men !  Oh,  let  us  ex- 
hort him  not  to  act  thus !  be  not  thus,  O 
world-honored  one  !  but,  for  the  sake  of  men 
sunk  in  sin,  declare  thy  Law  !  " 

(12.) 
The  struggle  of  a  hard-moiling  man  with 
overbearing  Poverty,  to  reach  "  Fame's  proud 
Temple,"   is   jBuely   pictured   in    the   following 
Spencerian  stanza: 

'*Ah!   who  can  tell  liow  hard   it  is  to   climb 
The  steep  where  Fame's  proud  Temple  shines  afar ; 
Ah  !    who   can   tell  how  many  a  soul   sublime 
Has  felt  the  influence   of  malignant   star, 
And  waged   with  Fortune  an  eternal   war ; 


100        Buddha^ 8  Life  and   Teachings, 

Checked  by  the   scoff  of  Pride,   by  Envy's  frown, 
And  Poverty's  unconquerable  bar ; 
In  life's  lone   vale  remote  has  pined  alone. 
Then  dropt  into  the  grave,  unpiticd  and  unknovrn  ! " 

—JDr.  Beaitie. 

(13.) 

Tlie  tlieory,  posited  by  Goetlie  and  Car-, 
lyle,  that  no  great  work  was  ever  effected 
without  renunciation  and  self-elevation,  is  clearly- 
revealed  in  the  teacliings  of  Lord  Buddha. 
Nothing  so  demoralizes  mankind  as  luxmy 
and  indolence : 

"For  sluggard's  brow   the   laurel   never  grows. 
Renown  is  not  the   child   of  indolent  Repose." 

— Thomson. 

(U.) 
An  atheistic  lady  of  considerable  culture 
was  once  bereft  of  an  only  daughter,  who 
bloomed  in  all  tlie  radiance  of  youth,  whose 
voice  was  as  musical  as  the  notes  of  a  nightin- 
gale. Once,  at  midnight's  solemn  repose,  she 
was  awakened  l)y  the  plaintive   accents  of  her 


Annotations.  101 

child,  who  had  returned  to  her  desoh\tc  abode 
to  convince  her  skeptical  mother  of  the  con- 
tinued existence  of  earth-flown  mortals.  After 
stemming  the  sullen  waters  of  cheerless  atheism 
(which  offers  no  hope,  but  is  an  eternal  nega- 
tion), she  reached  the  child  at  the  door,  where, 
in  the  cold,  she  had  lono;  waited  her  comino*. 
Then  the  true-hearted  mother  (in  the  vision) 
bore  the  child  in  her  loving  arms  to  a  cheerful, 
well-lighted  room,  and  was  overpoweringly  con- 
vinced of  her  materialized  ipseitj,  or  selfhood : 
"In  spirit-form   complete, 

Slie  comes  to   meet  her  ; 
She  stays  her  hurrying  feet, 

Her  whispers  greet  her  ; 
Touch   of  her  shadowy  palms 

Stills  all  life's  fever  ; 
Hinting  what  restful  calms 
Are  hers  forever." 

(15.) 
The   most   canorous  and   clear-toned   song- 
ster in  India  is  the  beautiful  Kalibinka.     It  is 


102       Buddha's  Life  and  Teachings. 

regarded  by  the  natives  with  as  much  favor 
as  the  nightingale  is  in  Europe,  or  the  mavis 
or  song-thrush  in   America. 

(16.) 
This  terrific  thunder-storm  took  place  in 
the  forest  Uruwela.  Mara  and  his  host  had 
long  striven  to  circumvent  our  Lord  in  his 
struggles  to  obtain  final  deliverance  from  the 
warring  passions,  and  are  represented  as  hav- 
ing caused  this  tempestuous  storm  ;  but  they 
were  overpowered  and  discomfited  by  Indi'a's 
mighty  forces. 

(17.) 
I  give  the  following  views  of  some  of  the 
most  eminent  Sanskrit  scholars  touching  this 
mooted,  oft  -  perverted  subject  :  '^  Numerous 
writers  on  Buddhism,  iu  their  lectures  and 
articles,  tell  us  that  Il^irvana  means  anni- 
hilation, and  the  non-existence  of  the  soul. 
This  statement  is  more  easily  made  than  proved. 


^jxniiotations.  103 

It  would  be  better,  at  best,  if  it  was  not  so 
frequently  repeated  in  the  face  of  contrary 
statements  made  by  those  well  able  to  judge 
respecting   the    matter." — Beat. 

"  Whatever  IN'irvana  may  be,  the  Siamese 
Buddhists  assume  it  to  be  more  desirable  than 
any  thing  they  can  define  as  existence,  and  the 
question  they  raise  is  not  '  How  shall  it  be  de- 
fined ?  but  how  can  it  be  obtained  ? '  " — A  la- 
haster. 

No  writer  has  made  this  subject  so  clear 
to  me  as  the  erudite  Max  Miiller  :  "  I  go  even 
farther,  and  maintain'  that,  if  we  look  in  the 
Dhainma2)(ida^  at  every  passage  where  Nir- 
vana is  mentioned,  there  is  not  one  word  which 
would  require  that  its  meaning  should  be  an- 
nihilation ;  while  most,  if  not  all,  would  be- 
come perfectly  unintelligible  if  we  assigned  to 
the  word  Nirvana  the  meaning  which  it  has 
in  the  metaphysical  position  of  the  canon. 
AVhat  does  Buddha  mean  when  he  calls  reflec- 


104        IBuddha's  lAfe  and  Teachings. 

tion  the  path  to  immortality,  thoughtlessness 
the  path  of  death.  Biiddhagosha  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  explain  immortality  by  Nirvana ;  and 
that  the  same  idea  was  connected  with  it  in 
the  mind  of  Buddha  is  clearly  proved  by  a 
passage  immediately  following  (v,  237) :  '  The 
wise  people,  meditative,  steady,  always  pos- 
sessed of  strong  powers,  attain  to  ISTirvana,  the 
highest  happiness.' 

"  If  the  goal  at  which  the  followers  of  Bud- 
dha have  to  aim  had  been  in  the  mind  of 
Buddlia  perfect  annihilation,  *  amata,'  i.  e.,  im- 
mortalit}^,  would  have  been  the  very  last  word 
he  could  have  chosen  as  its  name." 

(18.) 

"  Men  who  have  not  observed  proper  dis- 
cipline, and  have  not  gained  wealth  in  their 
youth,  tliey  perish  like  old  herons  in  a  lake 
without  fish. 

"Men  who  have  not  observed  j)roper  dis- 


Annotations.  105 

cipliue,  and  have  not  gained  wealth  in  their 
youth,  they  lie  like  broken  bones,  sighing  after 
the  past." — BuddhcCs  Dhammajpada. 

With  the  old  Cliinese  philosopher,  Lau- 
Tsze,  economy  was  one  of  the  three  things  he 
most  highly  prized.  He  enounces  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Three  precious  things  I  prize,  and  hold 
fast — Humility,  Compassion,  and  Economy^ 

(19.) 

The  most  logical  points  ever  made  against 
the  vice  of  intemperance  are  the  following,  by 
the  Lord  Buddha,  in  his  Sutras,  or  sermons, 
translated  by  Alabaster,  from  the  works  of  the 
late  Hajah  of  Siam  : 

"  As  to  the  sin  of  drinking  intoxicating 
things,  consider !  It  is  the  cause  of  the  heart 
becoming  excited  and  overcome.  By  nature 
there  is  already  an  intoxication  in  man  caused 
by  desire,  anger,  and  folly;  he  is  ah-eady  in- 
clined to  excess,  and  is  not  thoughtful  of  the 


106        Buddha's  Life  arid  Teachings,  ^ 

impermanence,  misery,  and  vanity  of  all  things. 
If  we  stimulate  this  natural  intoxication  by 
drinking,  it  will  become  more  daring;  and  if 
the  natural  inclination  is  to  anger,  anger  will 
become  excessive,  and  acts  of  violence  and  mur- 
der will  result.  Similarly  with  the  other  in- 
clinations :  The  drunken  man  neither  thinks 
of  future  retribution,  nor  present  punishment. 
Again,  spirituous  liquors  cause  disease,  liver 
disease,  and  short  life ;  and  the  use  of  them, 
when  it  has  become  a  fixed  habit,  cannot  be 
dispensed  with  without  discomfort,  so  that  men 
spend  all  their  money  unprofitably  in  purchas- 
ing them,  and,  when  the  money  is  spent,  be- 
come thieves  and  dacoits.  The  evil  is  both 
future  and  immediate." 

(20.) 

Eev.  W.  H.  H.  Murray,  the  distinguished 
Conerresational  minister,  in  a  lecture  delivered 
in  Boston,  not  long  ago,  said: 

"  Christian    civilization    might    profit    from 


Annotaiwtis.  107 

Buddhism :  and  New  Eiio-land  iiiiixht  2:0  to 
school  ill  Cliina  and  India.  The  nnderlying 
idea  of  Buddhism  is  a  belief  in  the  infinite 
capacity  of  the  human  intellect ;  a  belief  in  the 
availing  of  true  merit,  and  in  the  development 
of  all  the  human  faculties.  It  is  not  a  heav}^, 
sensual  religion;  but  one  purely  rational,  ap- 
pealing to  conscientiousness  and  intellect  for 
support. 

"  While  Old  England  and  Kew  England 
have  used  the  rack,  the  cell,  the  dungeon,  the 
inquisition,  and  thousands  of  implements  of  tor- 
ture, there  have  been  twenty-three  hundred 
years  of  Buddhism  with  not  a  drop  of  blood 
in  its  onward  march  ;  not  a  groan  along  its 
pathway.  It  has  never  persecuted ;  never  de- 
ceived the  people ;  never  practiced  pious  fraud ; 
never  appealed  to  prejudice;  never,  used  the 
sword.  If  Buddhists  are  heathen,  are  they  not 
civilized  heathen?" 

To  the  above  pointed  remarks  of  Mr.  Mur- 


108        Buddha's  .Life  and  Teachings. 

raj  I  subjoin  the  following  from  a  speecli 
delivered  a  few  years  since  by  the  late  Hon. 
Anson  Bnrlingame : 

"  China  is  a  land  of  scholars  ana  schools ; 
a  land  of  books,  from  the  smallest  pamphlet 
up  to  voluminous  encj'clopedias.  It  is  a  land 
where  privileges  are  common.  It  is  a  land 
without  caste,  for  they  destroyed  their  feudal 
system  over  two  thousand  j^ears  ago  ;  and  they 
built  their  grand  structure  of  civilization  on  the 
great  idea  that  the  people  are  the  source  of 
power.  This  idea  was  uttered  by  Mencius  be- 
tween two  and  three  thousand  j^ears  since,  and 
it  was  old  w^hen  he  uttered  it.  They  make 
scholarship   a  test   of  merit." 

(21.) 

The  following  Five  Commandments  are  the 
most  concise  and  pointed  of  the  Ten  jri^en  by 
the    Great   Teacher : 

1.     "Not   to   destroy  life. 


Annotations.  109 

2.  "Kot  to  obtain  another's  property  by 
unjust  means. 

3.  "]^ot   to    utter   falseliood. 

4.  "E"ot  to  indulge  the  passions,  so  as  to 
invade  the  legal,  or  natural,  rights  of  othej- 
men. 

5.  "  Not  to  partake  of  anything  intoxi- 
cating."— Alabaster, 

(22.) 

In  the  Brahmanical  system  of  Caste,  tlie 
Chandelah,  in  consequence  of  mixed  marriage, 
is  doomed  to  be  a  wretched  outcast.  The  Soo- 
der,  Yvdio  is  born  from  the  foot  of  Brahma,  is 
fated  to  a  state  of  perpetual  bondage  to  the 
high-caste,  lordly  Brahman. 

This  soul-enslaving  system  of  servitude  the 
Lord  Buddha  most  streiiuouisly  opposed.  A 
similar  system  did  Jesus  encounter  among  the 
stilted,   crest-raised   Pharisees. 

The  wretched  fate  of  the  unfortunate  Chan- 
delah,  or   Pariah,   is  fLuely   povtxa-yed  in    the- 


110        BuddJicCs  Life,  and  Teachings. 

following  lines  from  the  scholarly  poet  Goethe. 

"We   are   not   of  noble  kind, 

For  with  woe   our  lot  is  rife  ; 
And  what  others  deadly  find 

Is  our   only  source    of  life. 
^     Let  this  be   enough   for  men, 

Let  them  if  they  will  desj)ise  us  ; 

But  thou,  Brahma,  thou  shouldst  prize  us, 
All  are  equal  in   thy  ken." 

(23.) 

In  the  American  Antiquities  we  find  the 
following  touching  the  unchangeable  eflfects  of 
climate  on  the  complexions  of  dififerent  races : 

"  In  torrid  climes,  both  the  white  and  black, 
with  all  the  intermediate  shades  between  the 
two  extremes,  are  found,  as  also  the  black 
,  \\'ith  curled  hair  in  the  northern  regions,  and 
in  many  countries  of  the  Old  World.  The 
dark  -  complexioned  varieties  of  mankind  are 
found  near  the  poles;  as  people  of  tlie  same 
complexion  are  found  over  the  whole  continent 
pf  America,   under   all   its   various   climates." 


Annotations.  Ill 

(24.) 
Beattie's  Minstrel. 

(25.) 
Near  Mount  Hecla,  in  Iceland,  there  is  a 
marvelous  column  of  boiling  water  thrown  up- 
ward, above  ninety  feet,  by  the  force  of  a  sub- 
terranean fire. 

(26.) 
Travels   of  Fah-Hian    and    Sung-Yun, 
Buddhist  Pilgrims,  from  China,  to  India  (400- 
518  A.D.),  hy  S.  Beal. 

(27.) 

"Fah-Hian  mentions  two  footprints  in  Cey- 
lon. '  Buddah,  by  his  spiritual  power,  planted 
one  foot  to  the  north  of  the  royal  city,  and 
one  on  the  top  of  a  mountain ;  the  distance 
between  the  two  being  fifteen  yoganas  (say  a 
hundred  miles'). 

"  You  have  all  heard  of  the  two  footprints 
sculptured  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Olivet, 
and  worshiped  by  pilgrims  as   the   marks  left 


112        JBuddha's  Life  and  Teachings. 

when  Jesus  sprang  into  the  sky  at  his  ascen- 
sion." 

(28.) 
Touching  tJie   date  when   the  Iranian   Pro- 
phet flourished,   I  quote   from   the  writings  of 
the  well-known,  scholarly  author,  Hudson  Tnt- 

tle: 

"  The  eminent  Oriental  scholar,  M.  Hang, 
places  Zoroaster  4,800  B.C.,  thus  antedating 
Moses.  Bat  far  better  are  the  ancient  Greek 
writers.  They  agree  in  placing  the  era  of  Zo- 
roaster more  than   6,000  years  B.C. 

"Hermippus,  who  made  the  books  and  re- 
ligion of  th(3  Magi  the  study  of  his  lifetime, 
states,  according  to  Pliny,  on  the  authority  of 
Agonakes,  his  teacher,  tliat  Zoroaster  lived 
about  5,000  years  before  the  Trojan  war,  6,180 
B.C."       o       .       . 

The  erudite  A.  H.  Bleeck,  in  his  Prolego- 
mena to  his  English  translation  of  the  Zend- 
Avesta^   from   Prof.    Spiegle's    German,    says: 


Annotations.  113 

"When  we  attempt  to  go  farther,  and  fix  the 
date  of  the  Iranian  Prophet,  we  are  met  by 
difficulties  at  present  insuperable,  and  we  can 
neither  deny  nor  confirm  the  statement  of  Aris- 
totle, who  places  Zoroaster  6,000  years  before 
his  own  time,  or,  rather,  that  of  Plato,  about 
360  B.C." 

(29.) 

A  Mobed  is  the  high-priest  of  the  Parsees, 
the   followers   of  Zoroaster. 

"  A  small  remnant  of  them  still  cling  to 
the  Persian  soil;  but  the  mass  passed  across 
the  Persian  Gulf  into  Hindostan,  where  they 
received  welcome  and  protection  from  the  Ea- 
jah   of  Guzarat. 

"The  Parsees  of  Bombay  are  the  richest, 
and  most  prosperous,  and  most  active,  class  of 
merchants  in  India,  the  English  at  Calcutta 
and  Madras  excepted.  It  is  more  due  to  them 
than  to  any  others  that  Bombay  has  become 
that  great  center  and  emporium  of  the  trade 


114        BuddhcCs  Life  and  Teachings. 

of  Western    India.     Shrewd    and    industrious 


they  are   far   from   being   either   over-reaching 
or  parsimonious. 

"The  merchants  of  European  and  Ameri- 
can cities  may  well  emulate  the  commercial 
honesty  of  this  race.  They  are  also  lavish  on 
occasion  with  their  wealth.  .  .  .  Amons: 
themselves  they  are  rather  a  brotherhood  than 
a  class  or  race.  There  is  a  genuine  Freema- 
sonry among  the  Parsees,  each  being  always 
ready  to  help  his  fellow,  and.  thus  knit  to- 
gether, they  possess  that  wide  and  strong  influ- 
ence which  is  the  result  of  unity.  It  -  is  no 
empty  boast  of  theirs  that  throughout  their 
community  there  is  not  a  single  prostitute. 
.  .  .  It  is  rarely  a  Parsee  is  ever  brouglit 
into  court,  either  on  a  criminal  or  civic  charge. 
Prompt  in  the  payment  of  their  debts,  almost 
invariably  true  to  their  engagements,  they  are 
also  quiet,  orderly,  and  law-abiding." — Ajyple- 
tons'  Journal. 


Annotations.  115 

(30.) 

"  Malimoiid,  the  Sultan  of  Gliuzni,  on  hear- 
ing the  astonishing  accounts  of  the  relics  of 
the  pagoda  of  Sumnaut,  whose  roof  was  cov- 
ered with  plates  of  gold,  and  encircled  with 
precious  stones,  besieged  the  place,  whose  in- 
habitants fell  an  easj  j)rey  before  the  victorious 
Moslems.  ...  In  the  fury  of  liis  Moham- 
medan zeal  against  supposed  idols,  he  smote 
off  the  nose  of  the  image.  Though  large  sums 
were  offered  for  his  desist  an  ce,  he  only  pro- 
ceeded with  his  soldiers  to  destroy  it.  He 
found  an  infinite  variety  of  diamonds,  rabies, 
and  pearls,,  of  a  water  so  pure  and  a  magni- 
tude so  uncommon  that  the  soldiers  were  over- 
whelmed with  astonishment.  The  accumulated 
riches  of  this  affluent  region  were  so  immense 
that  "they  exceeded  the  power  of  imagination 
to  grasp   them. 

"  Of  this  Moslem  marauder,  w^e  read  that 
when  he  approached  the  scenes  of  dissolution. 


116        JBxiddha^s  Life  and  Teachings. 

he  ordered  Ins  sacks  of  gold  and  jewels  to 
be  bronglit  before  him,  that  he  miglit  gaze 
for  the  last  time  upon  his  earthly  treasm-es, 
then  burst  into  tears,  probably  from  the  dis- 
mal reflection  of  the  thousands  of  lives  he  had 
sacrificed  to  obtain  them ;  and  perhaps  from 
the  thought  that  they  would  soon  pass  into 
other  hands,  and  lie  to  the  doom  of  eternity." 
—  ^Y.  Howitt. 

(31.) 

The  great  injustice  and  cruelty  of  England 
toward  those  so-called  heathen  is  most  vividly 
depicted  by  Goldwin  Smith — an  Englishman 
of  scholarly  ability,  now  a  resident  of  Canada 
— in  a  scathing  criticism  of  the  British  rule  in 
India,  called  out  by  the  war  with  the  Ameer 
of  Cabul.  We  make  the  following  extracts 
from  Prof.  Smith's  criticism,  as  we  find  it  quo- 
ted by  Mr.  G.  B.  Stebbins  in  the  Religio- 
Philosophieal  Journal : 

,      .      .     "In   every    country   but    one,   the 


Annotations.  11 T 

liearts  of  all  who  love  justice  and  hate  iniquity 
will  be  on  the  side  of  the  Ameer ;  and,  if 
ho  is  beaten,  he  will  be  trodden  down  into 
the  general  mass  of  spiritless  and  hopeless  servi- 
tude of  the  two  hundred  millions  who  owe 
their  allegiance  to  the  Empress  of  India — 
that  is,   to   Queen   Yictoria." 

Of  the  late  famine  in  Hindostan  he  saj^s: 
"  Whether  it  was  four  millions  or  only  a  mil- 
lion and  a  quarter  of  these  wretches  who  died 
in   the  late  famine,  nobody   can   exactly  tell. 

"  People  wonder  that  Christianit}^  does  ^lot 
make  more  headway  in  Hindostan.  The  con- 
verts are  few.  Yet  the  religion  of  Christ  pros- 
pers as  much  as  it  could  be  reasonably  expected 
to  prosper  in  partnership  with  the  pride  of 
conquest,  the  insolence  of  race,  fiscal  extor- 
tion and  massacre.  The  preacliers  themselves 
are  imperial.  Lord  Elgin  found  reverend  gen- 
tlemen out-Heroding  even  lay  terrorists  in  the 
ferocity  of  their  sentiments  at  the  time  of  the 


118        Buddha* s  Life  and  Teachings. 

mutiny ;  and  he  says  that,  if  he  were  to  pur- 
sue a  humane  policy  in  China,  the  loudest 
outcries  against  him  would  be  raised  by  the 
missionaries   and  the  women."     . 

Miss  Florence  Nightingale  has  also  writ- 
ten a  caustic  article  on  the  cruelty  of  her 
mother  -  countrymen  toward  famine  -  stricken 
India. 

(32.) 
Max  Miiller   reports   the   following   extract 
from   a   speech   of  a   Hindoo  at  Benares,  de- 
livered before  an  audience  of  natives  and  Eng- 
lish, which  will  show  that   Buddhists  are  not 

idolaters : 

"  If  by  idolatry,"  says  this  Hindoo  scholar, 

"is  meant  a  system  of  worship  which  coniines 

our  ideas   of  the   Deity   to    a   mere   image   of 

clay  or  stone,  which  prevents  our  hearts  from 

being  expanded  and  elevated  witli  lofty  notions 

of  the    attributes   of  God — if  this   is   what   is 

meant    by   idolatry,  "we    disclaim    and    abhor 


A7i?wtatio?is.  119 

idolatry,  and  deplore  the  ignorance  or  nnchari- 
tableness  of  those  who  charge  us  with  this 
groveling  system  of  worship.  We  really  lament 
the  ignorance  or  uncharitableness  of  those  who 
confound  our  representative  worship  with  the 
Phoenician,  Grecian,  or  Roman  idolatry,  as 
represented  by  European  writers,  and  then 
charge  us  with  polytheism,  in  the  teeth  of 
the  thousands  of  texts  in  the  Puranas,  declar- 
ing in  clear  and  unmistakable  terms  that  there 
is  but  one  God,  who  manifests  himself  as  Brah- 
ma, Yishnu,  and  Siva,  in  his  functions  of  crea- 
tion,  preservation   and    destruction." 

Wong  -  Ching  -  Foo,  a  Buddhist  missionary 
priest,  in  a  lecture  delivered  in  New  Haven, 
said :  "  If  Buddhists  are  idolaters,  most  surely 
are  the  Christians.  On  entering  a  cathedral 
in  one  of  your  cities,  I  was  struck  with  aston- 
ishment at  the  sight  of  so  many  images.  I 
asked  the  Catholic  priest  if  Christians  worshiped 
those  images :  to  which  he  replied,  '  None  but 


120       Buddha's  Life  and  Teachings. 

the  grossly  ignorant  devotee  worships  them. 
They  are  merely  emblems  of  real  personages 
which  intelligent   Catholics   adore.' " 

I  will  add :  As  Catholics  bow  before  im- 
ages in  their  devotions,  and  as  they  largely 
outnumber  the  Protestants,  it  follows  by  ila- 
tive  reasoning  that  the  major  part  of  Christians 
are   idolaters. 

(33.) 

Tlie  spiritual  dominions  of  Buddha  extend 
to    Siberia,    and   even    Swedish   Lapland. 

(34.) 

For  the  behoof  of  all  who  fancy  that  the 
ancients  were  inferior  to  moderns  in  genius 
and  literature,  I  cite  the  following  from  the 
poet  Alexander  Pope :  *'  The  ancients  (to  say 
the  least  of  them)  had  as  much  genius  as  we 
have ;  and  to  take  more  pains,  and  to  employ 
more  time,  cannot  fail  to  produce  more  com- 
plete  pieces.     They   constantly    applied   them- 


Annotations.  12i 

selves  not  only  to  that  art,  but  to  that  single 
branch  of  an  art,  to  which  their  talent  was 
most  powerfully  bent ;  and  it  was  the  business 
of  their  lives  to  correct  and  finish  their  works 
for  posterity.  If  we  can  pretend  to  have  used 
the  same  industry,  let  us  expect  the  same  im- 
mortality." 

The  writer  has  reference  to  the  ancient 
Greek   poets    and   philosophers. 

(35.) 

In  the  American  Antiquities  w^e  read  that 
"  Cavigero  supposes  that  the  nations  of  Azta- 
lan  came  from  Asia,  across  the  Pacific,  along 
the  region  of  tlm  coast  of  the  Chinese  sea  and 
islands,  reaching  America  not  far  from  Bher- 
ing's  Strait,  and  from  thence  followed  along 
the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  till  tliey  came,  in 
process   of  time,    to    a    milder   climate. 

"  To  this  Mr.  At  water  adds,  and-  supposes 
them  to  have   thence   worked    across   the    con- 


122       Buddlia^s  Life  and  Teachings. 

tiucnt,  as   well   as   in   other   directions,  as   far 
as  the  regions  of  the  Western  States  and  Ter-         i 
ritories,  where  thej  may  have  lived  thonsands 
of  years,  as  tlieir  works   denote." 

(36.) 

This  Hindoo  Deity  and  Savior,  who  flour- 
ished about  950  B.C.  (tliough  positive  evi- 
dence of  the  correctness  of  this  epocli  cannot 
be  established),*  was  miraculously  engendered 
by  the  god  Yishnu,  and  born  of  a  maiden 
of  vestal  purity,  named  Devanaguy,  in  a  prison 
at  Mathura.  The  canonic  records  of  his  ca- 
reer and  teachings  may  be  found  in  the  (Jpani- 
shads  of  wbat  is  called  the  ^oly  Bhagavad- 
Gita,    or    Hindoo    New   Testatment. 

His  youtbful  career  was  marked  by  lieroic 

*  "  That  the  name  of  Krishna,  and  the  general  out- 
iine  of  his  stor}',"  says  the  learned  Sir  William  Jones, 
■'were  long  anterior  to  the  birth  of  our  Savior,  and 
probably  to  the  time  of  Homer,  ice  know  very  ctrtainly.'''' 
— Asiatic  Researches^   vol.   i,   p.   259. 


Annotations.  123 

deeds,  in  redressing  tlio  wrongs  of  liumanity, 
while  to  free  the  oppressed  never  strove  u 
worthier   paladin. 

To  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  style 
of  this  Sanskrit  Philosophical  Poem,  I  cite  the 
following : 

Arjuna  thns  addresses  Krishna:  "  The  uni- 
verse, O  Krishna  !  is  jnstly  delighted  with  thy 
glory,  and  devoted  to  thee.  The  Pakshasas 
flee  affrighted  to  the  divers  quarters  of  heaven, 
and  all  the  multitudes  of  tlie  Siddas  salute 
thee.  And,  indeed,  why  should  they  not  adore 
thee,  O  great  one  !  thee,  the  first  creator,  more 
important  even  than  Braiuna  himself?  O  in- 
finite king  of  gods  !  habitation  of  the  uni- 
verse !  thoa  art  the  one  indivisible,  the  existing 
and  not  existing,  that  which  is  supreme.  Thou 
art  first  of  the  gods,  the  most  ancient  person. 
Thou  art  the  supreme  receptacle  of  this  uni- 
verse. Thou  knowest  all,  and  mayest  be  known, 
and  art  the  supreme  mansion.     By  tlice  is  this 


124:        BudclluCs  Life  and  Teachings. 

Universe  caused  to  emanate,  O  thou  of  endless 
forms  !  Air,  Tama,  fire,  Yarnna,  the  moon,  the 
progenitor,  and  the  great-grandfather  (of  the 
world)  art  thou.  Hail  !  hail .  to  thee  a  thou- 
sand times  !  and  again,  yet  again,  hail  to  thee! 
Hail  to  thee  from  before  !  Hail  to  thee  from 
behind !  Hail  to  thee  from  all  sides,  too ! 
Thou  All !  Of  infinite  power  and  immense 
might,  thou  comprehendest  all ;  therefore  thou 
art  All.  As  I  took  tliee  merely  for  a  friend, 
I  beseech  thee  without  measure  to  pardon 
whatever  I  may,  in  ignorance  of  tliis  thy  greats 
ness,  have  said  from  negligence  or  affection, 
such  as,  '  O  Krishna  !  O  son  of  Tadu !  (!) 
friend  ! '  and  every  thing  in  which  I  may  have 
treated  thee  in  a  joking  manner,  in  recreation, 
repose,  sitting,  or  at  meals,  whether  in  pri- 
vate or  in  the  presence  of  these.  Eternal  One ! 
.  .  .  .  JSTow  that  I  see  what  I  have  never 
seen  before,  I  am  delighted,  and  my  heart  is 
shaken  with  awe.     Show   me   that   other  forv.i 


Annotations.  125 

only,  O  god !  Be  gracious,  O  king  of  gods ! 
habitation  of  tlie  universe !  With  thy  tiara, 
thy  staff,  and  thy  discus  in  thy  hand,  thus 
only  do  I  desire  to  see  thee.  Invest  thyself 
with  that  four-armed  form,  thou  of  a  thousand 
arms,    of  every   form  !  " 

The  Holy  One-  spoke :  "  I  have  shown  thee 
tJiat  supreme  form,  Arjuna !  in  kindness  to 
thee  by  my  own  mystic  virtue — that,  which  is 
my  splendid,  universal,  infinite,  primeval  form, 
never  yet  beheld  by  other  than  thee.  ]N"ot 
by  studying  the  Yedas,  nor  by  almsgiving,  nor 
rites,  nor  severe  mortification,  can  I  be  seen 
in  this  form,  in  the  world  of  man,  by  other 
than  thee,  O  best  of  the  Kurus !  Be  not 
alarmed,  or  in  a  troubled  condition,  at  hav- 
ing seen  this  so  terrible  form  of  mine.  But 
look,  free  from  fear,  with  happy  heart,  upon 
that  other  form  only  of  mine,  namely,  this." 

Sanjaya  spoke:  "Yasudeva,  liaving  thus  ad- 
dressed Arjuna,   showed  him  again  his  proper 


126        BuddhcCs  Life  and  Teachings. 

form,  and  the  Great  One  consoled  him  who 
was  alarmed  bj  again  assuming  a  pleasant 
shape." 

Arjuna  spoke:  "Now  that  I  behold  this 
thy  pleasant  human  shape,  thou  who  art  prayed 
to  by  mortals !  I  am  composed  in  my  right 
mind,  and  brought  back  to  -my  natural  con- 
dition." 

The  Holy  One  spoke  :  "  That  form  of  mine 
which  thou  hast  seen  is  very  difficult  to  be- 
hold. Even  the  gods  are  always  anxious  to 
behold  that  form.  Neither  by  studying  tlie 
Yedas,  nor  mortification,  nor  almsgiving,  nor 
sacrifice,  can  I  be  seen  in  such  a  form  as  thou 
hast  seen  me.  But  only  by  worship,  of  which 
I  alone  am  the  object,  can  I  really  be  known 
and  seen,  Arjuna,  and  approached  in  this  form, 
O  harasser  of  thy  foes !  He  who  performs  his 
actions  for  me,  intent  on  me,  free  from  inter- 
est, and  from,  enmity  toward  any  being,  comes 
to   me,    O    son    of  Pandu ! " 


Annotations.  127 

■  (37.) 
The  period  denoted  by  tlie  Second  Com- 
ing of  Christ,  and  its  associate  events,  is  mis- 
understood by  the  Christian  world.  He  taught 
his  immediate  disciples  that  his  second  comino* 
would  transpire  during  thei-  lifetime — before 
the  then  current  generation  should  have  passed 
a^vaj.  (Matt,  xvi,  28,  and  xxiv,  34  ;  Luke 
xvii,  30.)  In  Matt,  xxv,  31,  et  seq.^  the  goats 
represent  the  God-cursed  Jews,  who  were  tlien 
doomed  to  everlasting  punishment.  They  were 
scattered  earth-wide  amono-  all  nations,  ao;ree- 
ably  to  Christ's  prediction.  They  are  a  "taunt 
and  a  curse  '' ;  hated  and  despised  by  the  whole 
civilized  world.  Limitation  of  space  precludes 
further  dilation  upon  the  fulfilment  of  Christ's 
and  their  own  prophet's  veritable  predictions. 
(Jer.  *xxiv,   9,   et  seq.) 

(38.) 
"  The  Delia- Llama  is  a   name  given   to  the 
sovereign    pontiff,    or    high-priest,   of  the    Tlii- 


128        Buddha^ s  Life  and  Teachings. 

betan  Tartars,  who  resides  at  Patoli,  in  a  vast 
palace  on  a  mountain,  on  the  banks  of  Bur- 
hampooter,    a   few    niihjs   from    Lahassa. 

"  This  sovereign  vicegerent  of  the  Deity  on 
earth  is  never  to  be  seen  only  in  a  secret 
place  in  his  palace,  amid  a  great  number  of 
lamps,  sitting  cross-legged  npoii  a  cushion,  and 
decked  with  gold  and  precious  stones  ;  where, 
at  a  distance,  tlie  people  bow  themselves  be- 
fore him.  He  seldom  speaks,  even  to  the 
greatest  princes,  but  only  lays  his  hands  upon 
their  heads,  and  they  are  fully  persuaded  they 
receive  from  thence  a  full  forgiveness  of  all 
their   sins." — Ilayward. 

I  subjoin  the  following:  The  present  cul- 
tus  of  Buddhism  bears  but  little  similarity  to 
its  primitive  status,  when  founded  by  its  im- 
mortal Author.  It  has  evidently  been  perverted 
by  an  imperial  high-priesthood.  In  a  manuer 
strikingly   resemblant    has    the    Christian   reli- 


A  nnotations.  129 

gion  been  corrupted  by  tlie  all-potent  decretals 
of  the   Komisli   prelacy. 

(39.) 

"  Wheel  of  the  Laic.  In  this  passage  the 
Siamese  author  speaks  of  the  wheel  as  if  it 
was  the  quoit-like  weapon  (chakra)  the  emblem 
of  the  power  of  Indra,  king  of  the  angels, 
and  of  emperors  of  the  world ;  a  few  lines 
farther  on,  the  allusion  seems  to  be  the  circle 
of  cause  and  effect.  Buddha  is  said  to  ac- 
count for  continued  existence  in  transmis-ra- 
tion.     The  twelve  causes  and  effects  are  called 

the  twelve  constituent  parts   of  the   wheel." — 
Alabaster. 

(40.) 
"  The  golden  junk  or  ship.  In  the  Life 
of  Buddha  we  read  of  '  the  lustrous  vessel  of 
the  law,*  by  which  Buddha  would  enable  men 
to  cross  the  ocean  of  transmigrating  existence, 
and  reach  the  other  shore,  i.  e.,  Nirvana." — 
Ibid, 


130        Buddha  s  I^fe  arid  Teachings. 

(41.) 
The  Lord  Buddha  at  this  period  was  so 
intensely  spiritnallj-minded  that  he  was  con- 
stantly en  rapport  with  the  spirit-world  while 
dwelling  in  his  sequestered  abode.  Bishop 
Bigandet  represents  him  as  then  living  upon 
the    verge    of  Heaven. 

(42.) 
A    Greek   phrase   which    is   rendered   Hell 
twelve  times  in  the   Gospels   of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  is   believed  by  theologians  to  de- 
note   tlie  regions    of  the   lost. 

(43.) 

The  fleering  corporealist,  who  denies  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  might  read  with  profit 
the  following  argument  in  its  favor  by  Socra- 
tes, an  Athenian  philosopher,  who  flourished 
about   470   B.C. 

The  first  argument  which  he  urges  is,  that 
everything  in  Nature  is  produced  or  generated 


Annotations.  131 

from  its  opposite.  "TJnis,  tlie  worse  proceeds 
from  the  better,  and  tlie  better  from  the  worse. 
From  the  state  of  wakefulness  we  pass  to 
sleep,  and  from  sleep  to  wakefulness.  And 
as  from  being  alive  we  go  to  the  dead,  and 
so,  from  being  dead,  we  enter  into  another 
life. 

"  The  soul  must  subsist  after  death,  be- 
cause it  existed  prior  to  the  present  life.  The 
soul  will  exist  hereafter,  because  it  is  a  svmple^ 
unchanging  substance.  If  it  were  a  compound, 
like  the  body,  it  must,  like  the  body,  be  dis- 
solved. But  as  it  is  not  a  compounded  sub- 
stance, it  is  not  subject  to  mutations  like  the 
body,  and  the  conclusion  is  that  it  will  never 
be  dissolved.  It  belongs  to  the  soul  to  oovern 
the  body,  and  not  the  body  tlie  soul ;  which 
proves  that  the  soul  is  allied  to  Divinity,  and, 
like  that,  is  immortal.  Into  whatever  tlie  sonl 
enters  it  introduces  life ;  which  shows  that 
life   is   essential   to  it,  and   that   it   can   never 


132        Buddha's  Life  and  Teachings. 

be   subject   to   the   opposite   of    life,   which    is 

death."      .      .      . 

In  all  ages,  have  didactic  bards  verified 
the  iiiter-commmiion  of  the  soul -flown  dead 
with  earth-mortals;  but  none  whose  works  I 
have  read,  excepting  Thomson,  has  more  grace- 
fully portrayed  their  mission  to  the  denizens 
of  this  mundane  globe  than  has  the  polished 
poet  Rogers  in   his  Pleasures  of  Memory : 

"Oft  may  the   spirits   of  the  dead  descend 
To   watch  the   silent   slumbers  of  a  friend ; 
To   hover  round  his   evening-walk  unseen, 
And  hold   sweet   converse   on  the   dusky   green ; 
To  hail  the  spot  where  once  their  friendship  grew, 
And  Heaven  and   Nature   opened  to   tlieir  vie\v  ! 
Oft,   when  he  trims  the   cheerful  hearth,  and  sees 
A  smiling   circle   emulous  to  please  ; 
There  may  these  gentle  guests  delight  to  dwell, 
And  bless  the  scenes  they  loved  on  earth  so  well." 

(44.) 
At  Mathura  and  Siam  can   be    seen    fanes 
and  pag-orlas  with  lofty  spires.     Alabaster  de- 


Annotations.  133 

scribes  one  in  Siam,  wliose  spire  reaches  an 
altitude  little  less  than  the  most  towerina:  in 
our   largest    emporiums. 


^5 


(45.) 

The  question  is  often  raised  by  Christians 
why  Buddhism  is  coniined  almost  exclusively 
to  Asia,  while  the  religion  taught  by  the  god- 
like !Nazarene  is  widespread  throughout  Eu- 
rope   and   America. 

A  solution  of  this  question  I  give  by  affirm- 
ing that  the  spread  of  the  Christian  religion 
is  due  to  the  following  circumstances :  Had 
Buddha  been  born  in  Judea,  at  the  date  of 
the  appearance  of  Jesus,  it  is  evident  at  first 
blush  that  his  religion  would  have  been  founded 
there ;  and  from  thence  through  the  prevail- 
ing dialects  it  would  have  spread  through  Eu- 
ropean nations,  and  subsequently  have  reached 
this  hemisphere.  With  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion, its  course  would  have  been  westward, 
following  the  setting  of  the  sun.     Had  Christ 


134       Buddha^ s  Lif&  and  Teachings. 

been  born  in  India  at  the  time  of  Buddha,  bis 
religion  would  liave  been  founded  there ;  and, 
peradventure,  I  should  have  written  his  bio- 
graphical  narrative,   instead   of  Buddha's. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  and  worthy  of  note, 
that  missionaries  are  being  sent  to  Judea,  to 
proclaim  to  the  benighted  denizens  the  glories 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  in  the  land  of  his 
nativity. 

(46.) 

The  world  had  three  Redeemers  before  the 
advent  of  the  humble  J^azarene.  They  were: 
Buddha  of  Kapilavastu,  Krishna  of  Hindostan, 
and   Osiris   of  Egypt. 

In  the  "  Book  of  the  Dead "  (Bunsen's 
Sgyj)t)  we  find  an  account  of  the  crucifixion 
of  OL-iris,  who  flourished  about  3,000  years 
B.C.  In  this  antique  work  are  found  religious 
rituals  most  strikingly  similar  to  those  which 
are   observed   by   Christians. 

In   a  book   now  before   me,   entitled    The 


Annotations.  135 

WorlcVs  Sixteen  Crucified  Saviors,  or  Chris^ 
tlanity  Before  Christ,  I  find  this  loose  stater 
inent :    "  Buddha,  Hindoo  Sakya,  crucified  600 

B.C." 

I  am  neither  prepared  to  confirm  nor  deny 
the  truthfulness  of  many  of  the  author's  state- 
ments, yet  I  shall  make  an  issue  with  him 
touching  t'he  criTcifixion  of  Buddha.  As  the 
last  note  to  my  poem  contains y^^^Z  ^particulars 
touching  the  death  of  Buddha,  I  refer  the 
reader  to  the  aforesai^  note  to  disprove  his 
allegation  that  he  was  crucified,  and  therein 
show  that  he  died  a  natural  death  in  the 
garden  of  the  Malla  Princes,  hard  by  the  city 
of  Kusinagara. 

(47.) 

Many  years  has  the  writer  lived  unfellowed, 
in  templed  shades,  within  the  purlieu  of  a 
rural  hamlet,  withdrawn  from  society ;  during 
which  period  he  investigated  many  ancient  and 
modern  religions  ;  but  none  so  fully  meets  his 


136        JBuddhas  Life  and  Teachings. 

approval  as  the  one  founded  by  the  fame- 
crowned  Ascetic  of  Kapilavastu,  whose  teach- 
ings he  has  endeavored  to  bring  before  the 
American   people. 

(48.) 
Heference  is  here  h.ad  to  the  story  of  Kisa- 
gotimi,  who  bemoaned  the  loss  of  an  only 
child,  the  account  of  which  may  be  found 
in  Buddhagosha^s  Parables.  This  parable  is 
given  in  fall  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  the 
Excursus. 

(49.) 

Oft  has  the  writer,  at  night-tide's  deepen- 
ing hush,  retired  from  the  dinning  haunts  of 
his  fellow-villagers,  for  silent  self-communing 
in   G  od's   hallowed   "  Acre  "  : 

**  Where  spirit-forms  athwart  the  solemn  dusk 
Tremendous  sweep,   or  seem  to  sweep,   along  ; 
And  voices    more  than  human,  through  the  void 
Deep-sounding,  seize  the  enthusiastic  ear ! " 

— ThomsoTi. 


Annotations.  137 

Oft,    too,   has   he    repeated    the    following, 
from   the    same   highly-gifted   poet: 

"Deep-roused,   I  f^el 
A  sacred  terror,    a   severe   delight 

Creep   tlirough   my  mortal  frame  ;    and  thus  metliinks 
A  voice,   than   human  more,   the   abstracted  ear 
Of  fancy  strikes:     'Be   not   of  us  afraid, 
Poor  kindred  man  !    thy  fellow-creatures,   "we 
From  the   same   Parent-Power  our  beings  drew ; 
The   same   our  Lord,    and  laws,    and  great  pursuit ; 
Once  some   of  us,   like  thee,   through  stormy  life, 
Toiled,   tempest-beaten,    ere  "we   could  attain 
This  holy   calm,   this  harmony  of  mind, 
Where  purity  and  peace  immingle  charms.' " 

(50.) 
"The  Modern  Buddhist"  alleges  that  the 
Lord  Buddha  disappeared  for  a  period  of  three 
months,  and  preached  to  the  spirits  of  the 
Dawadmigsa  world,  and  afterward  retm-ned  to 
earth.  The  miracle  he  regards  as  a  well- 
attested,  accredited  fact.  He  thinks  the  Lord 
could  not  have  concealed  himself  from  liis  im- 


138        Buddhas  Life  and  Teachings, 

mediate   disciples,   bat    that    lie   really   visited 
the   spirit- world. 

How  strongly  this  reminds  us  of  Christ,- 
when  he  preached  to  the  spirits  of  tlie  ISloa- 
chian  generation,  who  were  in  prison  in  the 
time  of  Peter ;  but  '*  were  disobedient,  when 
once  tlie  long-suffering  of  God  waited,  in  the 
days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a-preparing, 
wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were 'saved 
by   water."     (I  Peter,   iii,   18,   et  seq.) 

(51.) 
"  Buddha's  teachings  during  many  years 
were  not  unopposed.  Failing  to  equal  him  in 
science  and  miracle-working,  his  opponents 
tried  to  ruin  his  character.  They  leagued  with 
a  woman  to  charge  him  with  unchastity.  .  . 
They  bribed  her  to  accuse  him  of  misconduct 
with  her;  and,  when  she  had  proclaimed  her 
story,  was  murdered  by  her  bribers,  in  order 
that   Buddha  might   be  suspected   of  the   act. 


Annotations.  139 

This  plan  failed,  for  the  plotters,  in  a  drunken 
revel,  boasted  of  their  craft,  and  acknowledged 
their   villainy." — Alabaster. 

■        (52.) 

The  distinguished  Oriental  traveler,  Dr.  J. 
M.  Peebles,  in  his  annotations  on  the  Oral 
Discussion  between  a  Buddhist  priest  named 
Migettuwatte  and  E.ev.  P.  Silva, '^an  English 
clergyman,   held    at    Pantura,    Ceylon,    says : 

"  The  general  testimony  of  scholars,  as  well 
as  the  histories  of  the  Siamese,  Birmese,  and 
Singhalese,  unite  in  the  opinion  that  Sakya- 
muni  Gautama  Buddha  died  a  natural  deatli, 
at  the  ao-e  of  about  eiarhtv  years,  the  event 
occurring   during   the   reign    of   Adazathat." 

He  gives  Bishop  Bigandet's  account  of  the 
final  summation  of  his  earth-career,  and  par- 
ticulars touching  his  demise ;  but  I  quote  the 
following   from   Alabaster's   Life    of  Buddha: 

"  On   reaching   the   city  of  Kusinagara,  at- 


140        Buddha  s  Life  arid  Teachings. 

tended  by  Ids  immediate  disciples,  he  gave 
them  final  instructions.  Reclining  between  two 
lofty  Sala-trees,  in  the  garden  of  the  Malla 
Princes,  he  uttered  his  last  words :  '  All  things 
that  are  earth-born  are  perishable  ;  qualify  your- 
selves for  the  imperishable.'  Absorbed  in  ec- 
static meditation,  he  remained  until  the  third 
watch  of  the  night,   and   then   expired. 

"  Then  there  was  a  great  earthquake ;  and 
the  pious  who  had  not  tlie  perfection  of  saints 
wept  aloud  with  uplifted  arms,  and  reeled 
about,  exclaiming,  '  Too  soon  has  tlie  blessed 
one  expired.  Too  soon  has  tlie  eye  closed  on 
the  world.'  But  the  more  advanced  in  reli- 
gion calmly  submitted  themselves,  saying, '  Tran- 
sitory things  are  perishable ;  in  this  world  there 
is  no  permanence.'  "  * 

*  In  tlie  Life  of  Gautama  Buddha,  by  Edwin  Ar- 
nold, we  read  the  following  touching  the  place  and 
date  of  his  birth  and  death:  "Buddha  was  born  on 
the  borders  of  Nepaul,  about  620  B.C.,  and  died  543 
B.C.,   at  Kusinagara,   in  Oudh." 


Annotations,  14l 

On  the  autlioritj  of  Max  Miiller,  I  have  placed  the 
epoch  of  his  birth  at  about  553  B.C.  Touching  the 
year  of  Buddlia's  advent,  there  seems  to  be  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  among  authors ;  but  nearly  all  agree 
that  his  birth  was  between  550  and  600  B.C. 

With  Alabaster,  Peebles,  and  Bigandet,  IMr.  Arnold 
agrees  that  Buddha  died  a  natural  death.  This  cor- 
roborative and  consentient  testimony  disproves  the 
statement  made  by  the  author  of  the  WorlcVs  Sixteen 
Crucified  Saviors,  that  he  was  crucified  near  the  Ke- 
paul  Mountains. 


EXCURSUS. 

To  GIVE  the  reader  a  correct  view  of  Bud- 
dha's ethical  and  religious  codes,  as  taught  by 
him  in  his  Dham^napada^  or  Path  of  Yirtue,* 
I  make  the  following  citations : 

*  Translated  from  the  Pali,  by  F.  Max  Miiller.  I 
have  not  numbered,  or  arranged  in  consecutive  order, 
chapter  and  verse,  my  quotations  from  the  Dhamma- 
pada.  I  have  adopted  the  present  course  to  avoid  seem- 
ing repetitions,  with  slight  variations,  which  plainly 
appear. 

Houghton,  Osgood  &  Co.,  the  well-known  publish- 
ers in  Boston,  have  recently  issued  the  DJiammapada, 
or  the  Buddhist  Canon,  translated  from  the  Chinese, 
by  Samuel  Beal,  B.A.,  Professor  of  Chinese  in  Uni- 
versity  College,   London. 

Although  the  phraseology  varies  considerably  from 
Max  Miiller's  translation  from  the  Pali,  yet  the  general 


144  Buddha  s  Teachings. 

All  that  we  are  is  the  result  of  wliat  we 
have  thought;  it  is  made  up  of  our  thoughts. 
If  a  man  speaks  or  acts  with  au  evil  tliought, 
pain  follows,  like  a  shadow  that  never  leaves 
him. 

If  a  man  does  what  is  good,  let  him  do 
it  again;  let  him  not  delight  in  sin;  pain  is 
the    outcome    of  evil. 

Let  us  live  happily,  then,  not  hating  those 
who  hate  us !  let  us  dwell  free  from  hatred 
among   men   wdio   hate   us ! 

identity   of  both  is  substantially   indicated.     Tlie  fol- 
lowing quotation   exhibits  the   contrast : 

"Although  a  man  may  have  heretofore  been  care- 
less, yet  if  afterward  he  is  able  to  govern  and  restrain 
himself,  this  man  becomes  illusXrious,  or  illuminates  the 
world,  and  the  more  he  reflects  the  more  resolved 
will  he  become  to  use  self-restraint,  A  man  may  have 
done  many  things  wrong,  but  if  he  recovers  himself 
and  atones  for  the  evil  by  doing  good,  this  man  be- 
comes illustrious  in  the  world,  and  the  more  he  reflects 
the  more  virtuous  he  will  become.  A  man  wiio  in  the 
prime  of  life  leaves  his  home  and  perfectly  tutors  him- 


Exciirsxis.  145 

Healtli  is  the  greatest  of  gifts,  contented- 
ness  the  best  riches ;  trust  is  the  best  of  rela- 
tives;    Nirvana,   the  highest  happiness. 

lie  who  walks  in  the  company  of  fools 
sniFers  a  long  way ;  company  with  fools,  as 
witli  an  enemy,  is  always  painful ;  company 
with  the  wise  is  pleasure,  like  meeting  with 
kinsfolk. 

Therefore,  one  ought  to  follow  the  wise, 
the  intelligent,  the  learned,  the  much-enduringj 
the   dutiful,   the   elect ;    one  ought  to  follow  a 

self  in  the  doctrine  of  Buddlia,  this  man  shines  out 
in  the  world  as  the  moon  when  it  hursts  from  the 
cloud.  The  man  M'ho  in  times  past  has  done  wickedly, 
but  afterward  halts  in  his  career  and  offends  no  more, 
that  man  shines  out  in  the  world  as  the  moon  when 
it  emerges  from   the   cloud." 

It  seems,  by  the  wide-spread  and  growing  interest 
in  this  ancient  religion,  that  God  is  especially  moving 
the  hearts  of  men  in  Europe  and  America  to  render 
in  English  the  sublime  doctrines  of  Buddhism,  which 
have  lain  buried  for  ages  in  the  sand  of  an  obsolete 
language. 


146  Buddha^ s  Teachings, 

good  and  wise  man,   as  the   moon   follows  the 
path    of  the    stars. 

He  who  does  not  rise  when  it  is  time  to 
rise,  who,  though  young  and  strong,  is  full  of 
sloth,  whose  will  and  thoughts  are  weak,  that 
lazy  and  idle  man  will  never  find  the  way 
to  knowledge. 

He  who,  by  causing  pain  to  others,  w^ishes 
to  obtain  pleasure  himself,  he,  entangled  in 
the  bonds  of  hatred,  wuU  never  be  free  from 
liatred. 

What  ought  to  be  done  is  neglected,  what 
ought  not  to  be  done  is  done ;  the  sins  of 
unruly,  thoughtless  people  are  always  increas- 
ing. 

The  disciples  of  Gautama  (Buddha)  are  al- 
ways well  awake,  and  their  thoughts  day  and 
night   are   alw^ays   set   on   Buddha. 

The  hard  parting,  the  hard  living  alone, 
the  uninhabitable  houses,   are  painful;   painful 


Excursus.  147 

is   tlie   company   with   men   who   are   not    our 
equals.      .      .      * 

Good  people  shine  from  afar,  like  the  snowy 
mountains;  bad  people  are  not  seen,  like  ar- 
rows  shot   by  night. 

He  who,  without  ceasing,  practices  the  duty 
of  eating  alone  and  sleeping  alone,  he,  sub- 
duing himself,  alone  will  rejoice  in  the  de- 
struction of  all  desires,  as  if  living  in  a  forest. 

He  who  says  what  is  not,  goes  to  hell; 
he  also  who,  having  done  a  thing,  and  says, 
I  have  not  done  it.  After  death  both  are 
equal;  they  are  men  with  evil  deeds  in  the 
next  world. 

Four  things  does  a  reckless  man  gain  who 

covets  his  neighbor's  wife:    a   bad   reputation, 

an   uncomfortable   bed ;     thirdly,    punishment ; 
and   lastly,   hell. 

Like  a  well-guarded. frontier  fort,  with  de- 
fenses within  and  witliout,  so  let  a  man  guard 


14:8  Buddha's   Teachings. 

liimsolf.  ISTot  a  moment  should  escape,  for 
they  who  allow  the  right  moment  to  pass  suf-^ 
fer   pain   when    they    are   in   hell. 

They  who  are  ashamed  of  what  they  ought 
not  to  be  ashamed  of,  sucli  men,  embracing 
false    doctrines,    enter   the    evil   path. 

The  Bhikshu  who  controls  liis  mouth,  who 
speaks  wisely  and  calmly,  who  teaches  the 
meaning    and    the    Law,    his    word   is   sweet. 

He  who  never  identifies  himself  with  liis 
body  and  soul,  and  does  not  grieve  over  what 
is  no  more,  he  indeed   is   called   a  Bhikshu. 

O  Bhikshu,  empty  this  boat !  if  emptied,  it 
will  go  quickly ;  having  cut  off  passion  and 
hatred,    tliou    wilt   go    to    Nirvana. 

This  salutary  word  I  tell  you,  as  many  as 
are  here  .come  together:  Dig  up  the  root  of 
thirst,  as  he  who  wants  the  sweet-scented  Usira 
root  must  dig  up  the  Birna  grass,  that  Mara 


Excursus.  149 

(the   tempter)   may   not   cnisli   you   again   and 
again,    as   the    stream   crushes   the   reeds. 

As  a  tree  is  firm  as  long  as  its  root  is 
safe,  and  grows  again  even  though  it  has  been 
cut  down,  thus,  unless  the  yearnings  of  thirst 
are  destroyed,  this  pain  (of  life)  will  return 
again    and   again. 

He  whose  desire  for  pleasure  runs  strong 
in  the  thirty-six  channels,  the  waves  will  carry 
away  that  misguided  man,  namely,  his  desires 
which    are    set   on   passion. 

The  channels  run  everywhere,  the  creeper 
(of  passion)  stands  sprouting;  if  you  see  the 
creeper  springing  up,  cut  its  root  by  means 
of  knowledge. 

A  creature's  pleasures  are  extravagant  and 
luxurious ;  sunk  in  lust  and  looking  for  pleas- 
ure, men  undergo  (again  and  again)  birth  and 
decay. 

Men,  driven  on  by  thirst,  run  about  like  a 


150  Buddha^ s  Teachings, 

snared  hare;   held  in   fetters  and  bonds,  they 
Undergo  pain  for  a  long  time,  again  and  again. 

Men,  driven  on  by  thirst,  run  about  like 
a  snared  hare ;  let,  therefore,  the  mendicant 
who  desires  passionlessness  for  himself  drive 
out  thirst. 

He  who  in  a  country  without  forests  (i.  e., 
a,fter  having  reached  Nirvana)  gives  himself 
over  to  forest  life  (i.  e.,  to  lust),  and  who, 
when  removed  from  the  forest  (i.  e.,  to  lust), 
runs  to  the  forest  (i.  e.,  to  lust),  look  at  that 
man  !    though  free,  he  runs  into  bondage. 

Wise  people  do  not  call  that  a  strong  fet- 
ter which  is  made  of  iron,  wood,  or  hemp; 
far  stronger  is  the  care  for  precious  stones 
and   rings,   for   sons   and   a   wife. 

That  fetter  do  wise  people  call  strong  w^hich, 
drags  down,  yields,  but  is  difficult  to  undo; 
after  having  cut  this  at  last,  people  enter  upon 
their  pilgrimage,  free  from  cares,  and  leaving 
desires   and   pleasures   behind. 


I^xcursus.  151 

Let  a  man  leave  anger,  let  him  forsake 
pride,  let  him  overcome  all  bondage  !  No  suf- 
ferings befall  the  man  Avho  is  not  attached  to 
either  body  or  soul,  and  who  calls  nothing  his 
own. 

He  who  holds  back  rising  anger  like  a  roll- 
ing chariot,  him  I  call  a  real  driver;  other 
people   are   but   holding   the   reins. 

Speak  the  truth,  do  not  yield  to  anger ; 
give,  if  thou  art  asked,  from  the  little  thou 
hast ;  by  those  steps  thou  wilt  go  near  the 
gods.  _  . 

He  whose  conquest  is  not  conquered  again, 
whose  conquest  no  one  in  this  world  escapes, 
by  what  path  can  you  lead  him,  the  Awak- 
ened,   the    Omniscient,   into    a   wrong   path  ? 

He  whom  no  desire  with  its  snares  and 
poisons  can  lead  astray,  by  what  path  can  j^ou 
lead  him,  the  Awakened,  the  Omniscient,  into 
a   wrong   path  ? 

Even  the  gods  envy   those  who  are  awak- 


152  BuddhcCs  Teachings. 

ened  and  not  forgetful,  who  are  given  to  medi- 
tation, wlio  are  wise,  and  who  delight  in  the 
repose   of  retirement   (from   the   w^orld). 

Hard  is  the  conception  of  men,  hard  is  the 
life  of  mortals,  hard  is  the  hearing  of  the  True 
Law,  hard  is  tlie  birth  of  the  Awakened  (the 
attainment    of  Buddhahood). 

IN^ot  to  commit  any  sin ;  to  do  good,  and 
to  purify  one's  mind — that  is  the  teaching  of 
the   Awakened. 

The  Awakened  call  patience  the  highest 
penance,  long-suffering  the  highest  Nirvana; 
for  he  is  not  an  anchorite  who  strikes  others, 
he  is  not  an  ascetic  (Shramna)  who  insults 
others. 

Not  to  blame,  not  to  strike,  to  live  re- 
strained under  the  law,  to  be  moderate  in  eat- 
ing, to  sleep  and  eat  alone,  and  to  dwell  on 
the  highest  thoughts — this  is  the  teaching  of 
the   Awakened. 


Excursus,  153 

Men  driven  by  fear  go  to  many  a  refuge — 
to  mountains  and  forests,  to  groves  and  -sacred 

trees. 

But  tliat  is  not  a  safe  refuge,  that  is  not 
tlie  best  refuge ;  a  man  is  not  delivered  from 
all  pains  after  having  gone  to  that  refuge. 

He  who  takes  refuge  with  Buddha,  the 
Law,  and  the  Church ;  he  who,  with  clear  un- 
derstanding, sees  the  four  holy  truths : 

Namely,  pain,  the  origin  of  pain,  the  de- 
struction of  pain,  and  the  eight-fold  holy  way 
that   leads   to    the   quieting   of  pain — 

That  is  the  safe  refuge,  that  is  tlie  best 
refuge ;  having  gone  to  that  refuge,  a  man  is 
delivered  from   all   pain. 

A  supernatural  person  is  not  easily  found ; 
he  is  not  born  everywhere.  Wherever  such  a 
sage   is   born,   that   race   prospers. 

Happy  is  the  arising  of  the  Awakened, 
happy  is  the  teaching  of  the  True  Law,  happy 


1-54:  JBuddha's  Teachings. 

is  the  peace   of  the  Church,  happy  is  tlie  de- 
votiorF  of   those   who    are    at   peace. 

He  who  pays  homage  to  those  who  de- 
serve homage,  whether  the  Awakened  (Buddha) 
or  his  disciples ;  those  who  have  overcome  the 
host  (of  evils),  and  crossed  the  flood  of  sor- 
row; he  who  pays  homage  to  such  as  have 
found  deliverance  and  know  no  fear — his  merit 
can   never   be   measured   by    anybody. 

He  who  lives  looking  for  pleasures  only, 
his  senses  uncontrolled,  immoderate  in  his  en- 
joyments, idle  and  weak,  Mara  (the  tempter) 
will  certainly  overcome  him,  as  the  wind  throws 
down  a  weak  tree. 

As  rain  does  not  break  through  a  well- 
thatched  house,  passion  will  not  break  through 
a   well-reflecting   mind. 

The  virtuous  man  is  happy  in  this  world, 
and  he  is  happy  in  the  next;  he  is  happy  in 
both.     He  is  happy  when  he  thinks  of  the  good 


Excursus.  155 

he  has  done ;  he '  is  still  more  happy  when 
going   on   the   good   path. 

The  thoughtless  man,  even  if  he  can  recite 
a  large  portion  (of  the  law),  but  is  not  a 
doer  of  it,  has  no  part  in  the  priesthood, 
but  is  like  a  cowherd  counting  the  cows  of 
others. 

Reflection  is  the  path  to  immortalit}" ; 
thoughtlessness,  the  path  of  death.  Those  who 
reflect  do  not  die ;  those  who  are  thoughtless 
are  as  if  dead  already. 

Follow  not  after  vanity,  nor  after  the  enjoy-, 
ment  of  love  and  lust !  He  who  reflects  and 
meditates  obtains  ample  joy. 

Not  a  mother,  not  a  father,  will  do  so  much, 
nor  any  other  relative ;  a  well-directed  mind 
will   do   us   greater   service. 

He  who  knows  that  his  body  is  like  froth, 
and  has  learnt  that  it  is  as  unsubstantial  as  a 
mirao;e,  will  break  the  flower  -  pointed  arrow 
of  Mara,  and    pever    see    the    King  of  Deatli. 


156  Buddha^s  Teachings. 

Death  carries  off  a  man  who  is  gathering 
flowers,  and  whose  mind  is  distracted,  as  a  flood 
carries  off  a  sleeping  village. 

Hatred  does  not  cease  by  hatred  at  any- 
time; hatred  ceases  by  love;  this  is  an  old 
rule. 

What  is  the  use  of  platted  hair,  O  fool ! 
what  of  the  raiment  of  goatskins  ?  Within 
thee  there  is  ravening,  but  the  outside  thou 
makest   clean.* 

He  whose  evil  deeds  are  covered  by  good 
deeds  brightens  up  this  world  like  the  moon 
when  she  rises  from  behind  the  clouds. 

As  the  bee  collects  honey  and  departs  with- 
out injuring  the  flower,  so  let  the  sage  dwell 
on  earth. 

*Most  strikingly  parallelistic  are  some  of  the 
phrases  in  this  passage  with  the  following:  "Ye 
make  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  platter, 
but  within  are  full  of  extortion  and  excess."  (Matt. 
xxiii,  25.) 


Excursus.  157 

Let  no  man  tliink  lightly  of  good,  saying 
in  Ins  heart,  It  will  not  benefit  me.  Even 
by  the  falling  of  water-drops  a  water-pot  is 
filled. 

Long  is  the  night  to  him  who  is  awake ; 
long  is  a  mile  to  him  who  is  tired ;  long  is 
life  to  the  foolish,  who  does  not  know  the 
true   law. 

If  a  traveler  does  not  meet  with  one  who 
is  his  better,  or  equal,  let  him  firmly  keep  to 
his  solitary  journey ;  there  is  no  companionship 
with  a  fool. 

If  an  intelligent  man  be  associated  for  one 
minute  only  with  a  wise  man,  he  will  soon  per- 
ceive the  truth,  as  the  tongue  perceives  the 
taste  of  soup. 

Fools  of  little  understanding  have  them- 
selves for  their  greatest  enemies ;  for  they 
do    deeds    which   must   bear   bitter  fruit. 

If  you  see  an  intelligent  man  who  tells 
you   where    true    treasures    are    to    be   found. 


158  Bxidd.Jia^s   Teachings. 

'who  shows  what  is  to  be  avoided,  and  who 
administers  reproof,  follow  that  wise  man;  it 
will  be  better,  not  worse,  for  those  who  fol- 
low  him. 

There  is  no  suffering  for  him  who  has  aban- 
doned grief,  and  finished  his  journey  ;  who  has 
freed  himself  from  all  desires,  arid  thrown  off 
all  fetters. 

They  who  have  riches,  who  live  on  author- 
ized food,  who  have  perceived  the  void,  the 
Unconditioned,  the  Absolute,  their  way  is  difii- 
cult  to  understand,  like  the  birds  of  the  ether. 

Forests  are  delightful ;  where  the  world  finds 
no  delight;  there  the  passionless  find  delight, 
for   they   look  not  for  pleasures. 

Let  a  man  overcome  anger  by  love,  evil  by 
good,  the  greedy  by  liberality,  the  liar  by  truth. 


* 


*  How  strikingly  does  the  sentiment  of  this  passage 
remind  us  of  its  analogy  with  the  one  expressed  b^"" 
the   Nazarene,   viz.,    "Overcome   evil   with  good." 

Confucius  enounces  the  same  sentiment  as  the  one 


Excursus.  159 

Some  people  are  born  again ;  evil-doers  go 
to  Hell ;  righteous  people  go  to  Heaven ;  those 
who  are  free  from  all  worldly  desires  enter 
Nirvana.* 

All  men  tremble  at  punishment;  all  men 
fear  death ;  remember  that  you  are  like  unto 
them,  and  do  not  kill,  nor  cause  slaughter. 

taught  in  the   "golden  rule,"  although   he    expresses 
it  negatively. 

"The  Christian  system  and  the  Buddhistic  one, 
though  differing  from  each  other  in  their  respective 
objects  and  ends  as  much  as  truth  from  error,  have, 
it  must  be  confessed,  many  striking  features  of  an 
astonishing  resemblance.  There  are  many  moral  pre- 
cepts equally  commanded  and  in  common  by  both 
creeds.  It  will  not  be  considered  rash  to  assert  that 
most  of  the  moral  truths  prescribed  by  the  Gospel 
are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Buddhistic  Scriptures." — 
Bishop  Bigandei. 

*In  Annotation  17  I  have  cited  the  views  of  sev- 
eral Sanskrit  scholars  on  the  meaning  of  Kirvana, 
who  distinctly  declare  their  disbelief  that  the  phrase 
signifies  annihilation.     In  confirmation  of  their  views 


IGO  Buddha's  Teachings. 

He  who  for  his  own  sake  punishes  or  kills 
beings  longing  for  life  and  happiness  will  not 
find  happiness  after  death. 

Do  not  speak  harshly  to  any  body ;  those 
who  are  spoken  to  will  answer  thee  in  the  same 
way.  Angry  speech  is  painful ;  blows  for  blows 
will  touch  thee. 

If  like  a  trumpet  trampled  under  foot,  thou 
utter  not,  thou  hast  reached  Nirvana;  anger 
is  not  known  in  thee. 

As  a  cowherd  with  his  staff  gathers  cows 
into  the  stable,  so  do  Age  and  Death  gather 
the  life   of  man. 

that    tlie  word    denotes    immortality,   I  add    the    fol- 
lowing : 

"The  views  indicated  by  'Nirvana,'  'Dharma,' 
'Karma,'  and  the  other  chief  features  of  Buddhism, 
are  at  least  the  fruits  of  considerable  study,  and 
also  of  a  firm  conviction  that  a  third  of  mankind 
would  never  have  been  brought  to  believe  in  blank 
abstractions  or  Nothingness  as  the  issue  and  crown 
of  Beinff." — Edwin  ArruM, 


Excursus,  161 

Cut  down  the  whole  forest  of  lust,  not  the 
tree !  When  you  have  cut  down  every  tree 
and  every  shrub,  then,  Bhikshus,  you  will  be 
free ! 

So  long  as  the  love  of  man  toward  women, 
even  the  smallest,  is  not  destroyed,  so  long  is 
his  mind  in  bondage,  as  the  calf  that  drinks 
milk  is  to  its  mother.* 

The  fool  does  not  know  when  he  commits 
his  evil  deeds ;  but  tlie  wicked  man  burns  by 
his  own   deeds,  as  if  burnt  by  fire. 

He  who  inflicts  pain  on  innocent  persons 
will  soon  come  to  one  of  these  ten  st^es :  He 
will  have  cruel  suffering,  loss,  injury  of  the  body, 
heavy  affliction,  or  loss  of  mind,  or  a  misfortune 

*The  injunction  given  in  this  passage,  to  live  down 
all  affection  for  women,  was  undoubtedly  designed  by 
the  Lord  to  apply  to  the  ascetics,  or  the  priesthood, 
and   not   to  believers  indiscriminately. 

The  celibacy  of  the  Romish  priesthood,  and  the 
same  observed  by  tlie  Shakers,  the  founders  of  these 
sectaries  have  rigidly  prescribed. 


162  Buddh as  Teach Ings. 

of  the  king,  or  a  fearful  accusation,  or  loss  of 
relatives,  or  destruction  of  treasures,  or  light- 
ning-fire will  burn  his  houses ;  and  when  his 
body  is  destroyed,  the  fool  will  go  to  Hell. 

Not  nakedness,  not  platted  hair,  not  dirt, 
not  fasting,  or  lying  on  the  earth,  not  ribbing 
with  dust,  not  sitting  motionless,  can  purify  a 
mortal  who  has  not  overcome  desires.* 

Is  there  a  man  in  this  world  so  restrained 
by  humility  that  he  does  not  mind  reproof,  as 
a  well-trained  horse  the  whip  ? 

Like  a  well-trained  horse  when  touched  by 
the  whip,  be  ye  active  and  lively,  and  by  faitli, 
by  virtue,  by  energy,  by  meditation,  by  discern- 
ment of  tlie  law,  you  will  overcome  this  great 
pain  (of  reproof),  perfect  in  knowledge,  and  in 
behavior,  and  never  forgetful. 

How  is  there  laughter,  how  is  there  joy,  as 

*Tlie  rigid  austerities  of  the  Yoga  system  of  as- 
ceticism the  Lord  Buddha  did  not  commend  to  his 
followers. 


Excursus.  163 

this  world   is    always    burning  ?     Why  do   you 
seek  light,  ye  who  are  surrounded  by  darkness  ? 

Look  at  this  dressed-up  lump,  covered  with 
wounds,  joined  together,  sickly,  full  of  many 
thoughts,  which  has  no  strength,  no  hold ! 

This  body  is  wasted,  full  of  sickness,  and 
frail ;  this  heap  of  corruption  breaks  to  pieces, 
the  life  in  it  is  death.  Those  white  bones, 
like  gourds  tin-own  away  in  Autumn,  what 
pleasure  is  there  in  looking  at   them ! 

After  a  frame  has  been  made  of  the  house, 
it  is  covered  with  flesh  and  blood,  and  there 
dwell  in  it  old  age  and  death,  pride  and 
deceit. 

A  man  who  has  learnt  little  grows  old 
like  an  ox;  his  flesh  grows,  but  his  knowl- 
edge does  not  grow. 

Without  ceasing,  I  shall  run  through  a  course 
of  many  births,  looking  for  the  maker  of  tliis 
tabernacle — and  painful  is  birth  again  and  again. 


164  Buddha^s  Teachings. 

But  now,  maker  of  this  tabernacle,  hast  thou 
been  seen ;  thou  shalt  not  make  up  this  tab- 
ernacle again.  All  thy  rafters  are  broken,  thy 
ridge-pole  is  sundered,  and  I  have  attained  to 
the  extinction  of  all  desires.* 

Be  not  thoughtless !  your  thoughts  draw 
yom'self  out  of  the  evil,  like  an  elephant 
sunk  in  mud. 

If  a   man   becomes   fat   and  a  great  eater, 

***Many  a  House  of  Life 
Hath  held  me — seeking  ever  him  who  wrought 
These  prisons  of  the   senses,   sorrow-fraught ; 

Sore  was  my  ceaseless  strife  ! 

But  now, 
Thou  builder  of  this  tabernacle — Thou  ! 
I  know  Thee  !     Never  shalt  Thou  build  again 

These  walls  of  pain, 
Nor  raise  tlie  roof-tree   of  deceits,   nor  lay 

Fresh  rafters   on  the   clay ; 
Broken  thy  house  is,  and  the  ridge-pole  split  ! 

Delusion  fashioned  it ! 
Safe  pass  I  thence — deliverance  to  obtain." 

— Edwin  Arnold. 


Excursus.  165 

if  lie  is  sleepy  and  rolls  himself  about,  that 
fool,  like  a  hog  fed  on  wash,  is  born  again  and 
again. 

This  mind  of  mine  went  formerly  wandering 
about  as  it  listed,  as  it  pleased ;  but  I  shall  now 
hold  it  thoroughly,  as  the  rider  who  holds  the 
hook  holds  in  the  furious  elephant. 

Self  is  the  lord  of  self;  who  else  could 
be  the  lord !  With  self  well  subdued,  a  man 
finds  a  lord  such  as  few  can  find. 

If  an  occasion  arises,  friends  are  pleasant; 
enjoyment  is  pleasant  if  it  be  mutual;  a  good 
work  is  pleasant  in  the  hour  of  death;  the 
giving   up    of  all   giief  is    pleasant. 

The  thirst  of  a  thoughtless  man  grows 
like  a  creeper;  he  runs  hither  and  thither, 
like    a   monkey  seeking  fruit   in    the   forest. 

If  a  man  is  tossed  about  by  doubts,  full 
of  strong  passions,  and  yearning  only  for 
what   is    delightful,  his    thiret  will   grow  more 


166  BuddhcCs   Teachings. 

and   more,  and   he  will   indeed    make   his   fet- 
ters strong.* 

The  fields  are  damaged  by  weeds;  man- 
kind, b}^  passion ;  tlierefore  a  gift  bestowed  on 
the  passionless  brings  great  reward. 

Without  knowledge  there  is  no  meditation ; 
without  meditation  there  is  no  knowledge;  he 
vvho  has  knowledge  and  meditation  is  near  unto 
Nirvana. 

He  who  has  traversed  this  mazy  and  imper- 
vious world  and  its  vanity,  who  is  through,  and 
has  reached  tlie  other  shore,  is  thouglitt'ul,  guile- 

*Tlie  following  depiction  of  the  plaj^  of  the  good 
and  evil  passions  over  man  is  both  powerfully  and 
artistically  effected  by  the  grandest  poet  Scotia  ever 
bore :  "^ 

"From   Yiitue's   fount   the  purest  joys   out-well, 
Sweet  rills  of  tliought  that  cheer  the  conscious  soul  ; 
While  Vice  pours   forth   its  troubled   streams   of  Hell, 
The  which,   howe'er  disguised,   at  last  ^vith   dole 
Will  through  the'iiortured  breast  their  liery  torrent  roll." 

— Thomson. 


Excursus,  167 

less,  free  from  doubts,  free  from  attacliment,  and 
content,  liim  I  call  indeed  a  Bralimana. 

He  wlio  calls  nothing  his  own,  whether  it  be 
before,  behind,  or  between,  who  is  poor,  and  free 
from  the  love  of  the  world,  him  I  call  indeed  a 
Bralimana. 

He  who  knows  his  former  abodes,  who  sees 
Heaven  and  Hell,  has  reached  the  end  of  births, 
is  perfect  in  knowledge,  and  a  sage ;  he  whose 
perfections  are  all  perfect — liim  I  call  indeed  a 
Brahmana. 

The  manly,  the  noble,  the  hero,  the  great 
sage,  the  conqueror,  the  guileless,  the  master, 
the  Awakened,  him  indeed  I  call  a  Brahmana.* 

*  It  is  a  noteworthy  coincidence  that  while  the 
writer  was  versifying  the  Life  of  Buddha,  Mr.  James 
Kinnersly  Lewis,  of  London,  England,  was  rendering 
in  verse   the  DJiammapada,  or  Path  of   Virtue. 

The    following     passage    from     the    Dhammapada, 

which  he  versifies,    exhibits  his  style    of    rhythmical 

numbers  : 

"Thy   life   has   come   to.au    end;     thou    art   come 


168  Buddha's  Teachings, 

I  will  close  these  summarized  citations  from 
the  teachings  of  the  Great  Teacher  with  the 
following  beautiful  parable  from  the  works 
of  Buddhagosha,  who  most  touchingly  depic- 
tures the  Lord  Buddha's  interview  with  the 
bereaved   Kisagotimi :  * 

"This  girl,  who  had  lost  an  only  child, 
went  to  Buddha,  and,  doing  him  homage,  said: 
'Lord  and  Master,  do  you  know  what  medi- 
cine will  cure  my  boy?'  Buddha  rephed,  'I 
know  some.'  She  asked,  'What  medicine  do 
you  require?'  He  said,  'I  want  a  handful  of 
mustard- seed.'     The   girl   promised    to   procure 

near  to  Death  (Yama),  there  is  no  resting-place  for 
thee  on  the  road,  and  thou  hast  no  provision  for  thy 
journey." 

"Thine   earthly  pilgrimage   is  now  complete — 
The  road  to   Death  hath  now   no  resting-seat ; 
(Through  Yama's  waters  deep  thou  soon  Avilt  wade), 
And  for  thy  journey   no  provision  made." 

*I  cite  this  parable  from  Max  Muller's  Lecture  on 
"Buddhist  Nihilism." 


Excursus.  169 

it  for  him ;  but  Buddha  continued  :  '  I  require 
some  mustard-seed  taken  from  a  house  where 
no  son,  husband,  parent,  or  slave,  has  died.' 
The  girl  said,  '  Yery  good,'  and  went  to  ask 
for  some  at  dift'erent  liouses.  Tlie  people  said, 
'  Here  is  some  mustard-seed ;  take  it.'  Then 
she  asked,  '  In  m}^  friend's  house  has  there  died 
a  son,  a  husband,  a  parent,  or  a  slave?'  Thej 
replied,  '  Lady,  what  is  this  tliat  you  say  ? 
The  living  are  few^  but  the  dead  are  inany!' 
Then  she  went  to  other  houses ;  but  one  said, 
'  I  liave  lost  a  son ' ;  another,  '  I  have  lost  a 
daughter  ' ;  another,  '  I  have  lost  my  parents ' ; 
another,   '  I  liave  lost   my  slave.' 

''  At  last,  not  being  able  to  lind  a  single 
house  where  no  one  had  died,  from  which  to 
procure  the  mustard-seed,  slie  began  to  think, 
*  This  is  a  heavy  task  that  I  am  engaged  in. 
I  am  not  the  only  one  whose  son  is  dead. 
In  the  w^iole  Savathi  country,  everywhere,  chil- 
dren are  dying,  parents  are  dying.'     Thinking 


170  Buddha's  Teachings, 

thus,  she  was  seized  with  fear,  and,  putting 
away  lier  affection  for  her  cliild,  she  summoned 
up  resohition,  and  left  the  dead  body  in  a 
forest ;  then  she  went  to  Buddha,  and  paid  him 
homage.  He  said  to  her,  '  Have  you  procured 
tlie  handful  of  mustard-seed?'  'I  have  not,' 
she  replied  ;  '  the  people  of  the  village  told 
me.  The  living  are  few^  but  the  dead  are 
many^  Buddha  said  to  her,  '  You  thought 
that  you  alone  had  lost  a  son ;  the  law  of 
death  is  that,  among  all  living  creatures,  there 
is   no   permanence.'. 

"AYhen  Buddha  had  finished  preacliing  the 
Law,  Kisagotimi  was  established  in  the  re- 
ward of  the  novitiate;  and  all  the  assembly 
who  heard  the  Law  were  established  in  the 
same  reward. 

"Some  titne  afterward,  when  Kisagotimi 
was  one  day  engaged  in  the  performance  of 
her  religious  duties,  she  observed  tlie  lights  (in 
the  houses)  now  shining,  now  extinguished,  and 


Excursus.  171 

she   began   to  reflect,   'My   state  is  like  these 

lamps.'     Buddha,  who  was  in    the  Gaudhaknti 

building,    sent    his   sacred    appearance   to   her, 

just  as  if  he  himself  was  preaching,  'All  living 

beings  resemble  the  flame  of  these  lamps,  one 

moment  lighted,   the   next  extinguished ;  those 

only   wdio    have    arrived   at    Nirvana    are    at 

rest.' " 

INYOCATION. 

To  thee,  Lord   Buddli\  I  voice  this   soul-felt  prayer! 

Oh,  hear  thy  servant  plain  'neath  sins  bowed  low! 
The  lowliest  lot  with  thee  he'd  gladly  share, 

In  bowery  spheres,  dis'thralled  from  earth's  dread 
woe  ! 

Thy  servant  save,   whene'er  dire  ills  betide ! 

No  more  henceforth  he'll  seek   inglorious  ease ! 
Thy  matchless  code  he'll  blaze  both  far  and  wide! 

Beyond  the  bourne   of  vasty  realms  and  seas! 

Yon  stars  may  fall !   fierce  flames  enwrap  the  world  ! 

Adance  in  fiendish  glee  midst  wild  uproar  I 
Mount  Meru's  mighty   mass  to  ruin   hurled  ! 

Still  o'er  vast  realms  thou 'It  heign  forcvermore  I 


14  DAY  USE 

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